A Hero's Vacation
by MysticIris
Summary: After a tough month of December, Darkwing decides to take a break on a tropical island, only to discover that crime never takes a vacation.
1. A Change of Scenery

**Chapter 1: A Change of Scenery**

Disclaimer: All characters in the story belong to the Disney Company and not to me.

******

Darkwing Duck, the lone caped crime fighter of St. Canard, was in a very sour mood. It was quite unusual for him to be so riled up during the holiday season, especially with Christmas having just past two days ago. Then again, things hadn't been going particularly well for him recently.

The month of December had started off with him attempting to stop a heist by Liquidator and Bushroot, who were set on stealing a shipment of gold straight off the ship it came on. While he managed to catch the pair in the act, he only managed to recover half the gold and both of them had escaped arrest.

Shortly after that, FOWL's top agent Steelbeak threatened the Christmas season by selling bombs in the shape of ornaments to the unsuspecting public. While he'd traced the crime back to the agent with minimal damage done to St. Canard, Steelbeak had also managed to escape his grasp.

From there, he had to deal with a number of dangerous criminals ranging from Negaduck, who hated anything cheery and wanted to put his own homicidal damper on the occasion, to the deranged Megavolt and his equally deranged partner Quackerjack stealing Christmas lights from the shelves and putting dangerous toys in their place.

This wouldn't have been a bad thing; in fact Darkwing was always happier when there were more crimes to solve, except that none of the cases had ended the way the terror of the night had wanted them to. Normally, every crime he faced ended in a pretty formulaic fashion: he was put on a case, he found the person responsible, he brought the person to justice and all wrongdoings were undone. However, these past couple of outings, all of the bad guys had escaped justice and most of them had even managed to retain some of their loot. He felt like he was loosing his edge and it didn't help that the rest of St. Canard seemed to think so too. That afternoon, he'd read an article in the _Canard Times_ about how they thought he just wasn't up the job anymore and should consider an early retirement. This wasn't their first piece on the subject and after ripping the paper up into tiny little shreds, he stomped up to his Audubon Bay Bridge hideout, making it clear he wanted to be left alone for a while.

_And to make my life even better, everybody's favorite superhero from Duckberg is in town. _Darkwing thought sulkily as he stared out at the city from the large windows on the bridge.

Indeed, Gizmoduck had appeared in town just before Christmas and as usual, all of St. Canard was going nuts over the famous robotic duck. It didn't help that Gizmoduck had managed to solve a couple of crimes in the city before he could. That just added a fresh layer of annoyance to Darkwing's already miserable state.

Grumbling to himself and glaring out at the Bay's scenery, he didn't notice that his sidekick was tentatively standing behind him. Launchpad knew that his crime fighting friend was in a really bad mood and his efforts to cheer him up might backfire badly. Then again, he figured, it couldn't hurt to try. Clearing his throat loudly, he finally broke the terror of the night out of his depressing thoughts.

"Hi Launchpad." He muttered with no enthusiasm. "What do you want?"

"Well, DW, I know you've been down lately and I think I might have come up with something that'll cheer you up."

"Unless you're here to tell me that Gizmoduck has dropped dead of a heart attack, I highly doubt that. Besides, coming up with ideas has never been one of your strong suits."

The sidekick ignored the jibe, not one to get discouraged so easily. "Well, I may be simple minded, but sometimes it's the simplest things that make us happy. That's why when I first came up with this idea; I thought it was so simple that I should have thought of it before."

"What is it?" Darkwing asked, wanting him to get to the point.

"A vacation." Launchpad stated with confidence.

Darkwing just turned around to stare at his sidekick in disbelief, wondering if he'd heard him correctly. It certainly wasn't the answer he was expecting.

"'A vacation?'" He repeated incredulously.

"Yes! And I found the perfect location." The pilot added, handing the super hero a flyer with information that he'd gotten out of the paper. His friend took it from him and looked it over with a raised eyebrow. It was a travel poster, with the typical advertising slogans plastered with pictures of sunlight, warm beaches and plates of food.

"Jacova? The tropical island on the other side of the world?"

"Why not? You've been complaining about how cold it's been in St. Canard. This little island's got great weather, plenty of beaches and beautiful scenery, not to mention all the exotic foods we could try. I mean, what's not to like?"

"Launchpad," the masked mallard replied patiently, "I can't just pack up and go halfway across the world on a whim. After all, I'm the resident hero of St. Canard. If I leave, who'll protect the city?"

"Aw, come on DW, it's not like St. Canard is gonna collapse in on itself just because you took a break. Nobody can expect you to keep on going day in and day out everyday for the whole year fighting crimes without you getting a little tired. It's only natural that if you don't do something for yourself every once in a while, it wears ya down. Honestly, I bet you can't even think of the last time you did anything that wasn't crime related."

Darkwing opened his bill to argue the point, but he couldn't. His sidekick was right; he didn't remember the last time he'd taken time off to do something as just plain, normal Drake Mallard. He sighed and looked down at the flyer again.

"You really think it's a good idea?" He received a vigorous nod as a response and began mulling out loud. "Well, I suppose it would give me an opportunity to spend more time with Gosalyn."

"That's the spirit, DW. A little R&R in a new place will be just what the doctor ordered. It'll take your mind off things and when we get back, I bet Darkwing Duck will be better than ever!"

The masked mallard finally cracked a smile at this and crossed his arms with an affirmative nod.

"I guess I can trust that loudmouthed tin can to take care of things while I'm away. Alright, LP, I'm in. How soon can we leave for Jacova?"

His sidekick beamed at his friend's compliance. "I can fly us there as early as tomorrow morning. But there is a condition," Launcpad added quickly, "you're not going to do anything crime related while we're in the area. Even if you find something suspicious going on over there, you're going to ignore it and leave it in the hands of the local authorities. You're just going to be Drake Mallard and take time for yourself. Do we have a deal?"

Darkwing hesitated for a moment, not really liking that idea. He looked from the flyer back to his sidekick who had his arms crossed in an obstinate matter. He heaved an overdramatic, heavy sigh as he finally responded:

"I suppose…"

_After all, what could possibly happen over there that they'd need a super hero to fix it? That little island is known for its low crime rate and friendly native population. I'm sure it'll be fine…_

"Great! Boy, I can't wait to tell Gos about this."

"Tell me what?" The familiar voice of the little red haired duckling cut in shrilly. She was wearing a green Christmas sweater and still had a little bit of snow in her hair from sledding outside. She looked between her father and his sidekick curiously, wondering what they had been talking about.

"Gosalyn sweetie, I need you to pack your bags tonight because we're going on a vacation."

"A vacation?" She whooped excitedly as she ran up to her father. "Where to? Where to?"

Darkwing handed her the flyer, which she promptly snatched out of his hand. Her grin grew bigger and bigger as she went down the page.

"Jacova? Keen gear! I'm gonna visit all the beaches, go swimming, surfing, diving and maybe I'll even get to sneak on one of those ritzy cruise boats." She added, though she wilted a little bit at the stern look her Dad gave her after she said that last bit.

"So, uh, when are we leaving?" Gosalyn asked changing the subject with a nervous giggle.

"Early tomorrow morning. So go home and get ready now. I expect you to be all packed and ready to go by then. That's not an excuse for you to stay up too late though." He added the last bit knowing his daughter all too well. This time, however, he didn't receive the ceremonial protests, but a kiss on his cheek.

"Don't worry Dad, I won't." She told him as she headed back towards the portal to get back to their house. "Yahoo! Vacation!" She shouted, practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. Darkwing smiled sweetly at her as she left, glad that he had made her so happy. It had lightened his mood considerably and turned back to his sidekick with a sheepish expression on his face.

"Um, Launchpad? Sorry about what I said to you earlier. This really is a great idea."

"Hey, no problem. After all, what're friends for?"

Darkwing nodded, thinking in his head that he was very lucky indeed to have a good friend like Launchpad. He was actually starting to feel a little excited himself over the prospect of going away for a while. As he continued staring out at the snow covered city of St. Canard, the masked mallard felt some of his confidence begin to come back to him.

"You know, LP, I have a feeling this is going to be a vacation we're never going to forget."

******

Author's Note: First off, I apologize for the shortness of this first chapter, but it's definitely going to pick up in the next chapter. After all, when does DW ever have a quiet, relaxing –well - anything? I hope you liked it!


	2. A Deal's A Deal

**A Deal's A Deal**

******

Drake Mallard was admiring the pure blue skyline from his passenger seat in Launchpad's small aircraft. After a short spat, they had both agreed it would be better if they didn't take the Thunderquack. To appease the short mallard, Launchpad had taken a small control device with them that could summon Darkwing's favorite aircraft at a moment's notice, though the pilot sincerely hoped they wouldn't need it.

Leaning back in his chair, Drake stretched his legs out and relaxed, watching the few wispy clouds pass by his window. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so calm or so _peaceful_. Closing his eyes and letting out a long sigh, he began imagining the warm beach sands where he'd be lying on a beach towel with an umbrella under the sun's rays and a cool, refreshing pina colada. His wonderful daydream was snapped rather abruptly by a rough kick to the back of his seat.

"Are we there yet?" Gosalyn whined for what seemed like the nine hundredth time to her father. Trying to hide his irritation, he turned to her and said to her in the most even tone he could muster:

"Not yet. We're almost there."

"But that's what you said the last time I asked!"

"I know. You asked me that same question twenty minutes ago." He told her with a pointed look. This only caused her to be quiet for a minute before the red haired duckling changed tactics.

"But I'm _soooo _bored! Can't this thing go any faster?"

"Sorry, kiddo," Launchpad told her without looking back, "we're going as fast as this plane will allow us to go within the safety regulations. And you know how the old saying goes: 'better safe than sorry.'"

"How can you be bored?" Her father demanded before she could start arguing with the pilot. "You brought that huge, bulging bag of stuff full of toys, games and I don't even now what else."

"Yeah, but I've gone through all of it already." She said with a pout.

"I thought you brought you're GameDuck and all of the games that go with it. Even _you_ couldn't have beaten all of them in this amount of time."

"Hmph. Don't underestimate the practiced and perfected gaming skills of Gosalyn Mallard. I can beat all those games in my sleep!" She boasted sitting up straight in her chair. "Now if a _certain someone_ would allow me to buy the new Resident Evil Duck game, then I might have something to occupy my time with!"

"Young lady, we've already had this discussion." Drake said in a warning tone. "That game is rated M and is unsuitable for minors. I don't want to get you something that would give you nightmares."

"'Nightmares?' Come on, Dad, I'm almost ten now. I'm way too mature to get nightmares."

"Clearly." He replied sarcastically. "Besides, that game costs a fortune. Even if you saved up all your allowance for a year, you still couldn't afford it."

"Well, if _somebody _wasn't so stingy, maybe I could." Gosalyn muttered, knowing she was pushing her Dad's buttons.

About to throw a temper tantrum after that last remark, Drake Mallard bit his tongue as he thought of something. Smiling far too sweetly, he was pleased to see his daughter scoot back in her chair a little, wondering what he was up to.

"Tell you what Gosalyn. I'm going to give you some money and let you budget your own finances on this vacation. That way, you can get an idea about how much things costs and why a little frugality can go a long way."

"Really?" She piped up, sounding excited. "Keen gear! How much are you gonna give me?"

"Fifty dollars. Once you trade that in for this island's currency, it will be even more. However," Drake said as he watched his daughter bounce up and down in her seat with glee. "there is a catch to this. If you spend all your money before our time here is up, then I'm not giving you any more. I'll be paying for food and lodging for all of us, but that's the only exception. You understand?"

"Wow, way to add all the fine print, Dad." She muttered with an eye roll. "You really want me to believe that you'd leave your own daughter out in the cold if I ran out of money?"

Drake hesitated at this remark, annoyed that his affection for his daughter was getting in the way of teaching her a good life lesson. Thankfully, he was saved from answering by the voice of his sidekick.

"Aw, cheer up Gos. It won't be so hard. I'll even go in on this budgeting deal with you if you want." Launchpad cut in happily as he continued flying the aircraft.

"LP, you really don't have to." Drake told him, but he shook his head.

"Nah, I think you're right on the money this time, no pun intended. I should get better at watching my finances myself. Besides, I think it'll be fun."

Drake put his head in his hand and shook it, as Gosalyn spoke up confidently from her seat in the back of the plane.

"Alright Dad, I'll play along with your little budgeting game as long as you keep _your_ promise about not doing any crime fighting while we're on vacation." She stated smugly, knowing her father all to well and sticking her hand out so that they could shake on it. He took it firmly, eyeing her with a similar smugness.

"We have a deal, young lady."

They both gazed at each for a moment with looks of fierce determination, each one of them thinking that they weren't going to be the one to lose this agreement.

"Glad you two have settled your bet because we're here!" Launcpad informed them causing them both to look out the window with excitement.

They both gazed admiringly down at the island below, taking in the large patches of sand, the surrounding oceans and the green jungle areas that we're farther in to the land. Drake gripped his seat tight and closed his eyes as his pilot started bringing them down, hoping that this would be one of his sidekick's better landings. Before he knew it, he felt the tires hit solid pavement as they landed at a small airport on the edge of the island. Breathing a sigh of relief that they had come down without a hitch, he immediately got up and stretched his legs, eager to disembark.

Once the door was open, Drake jumped out of the small aircraft onto the hot pavement below. It was at least ninety degrees outside and the air was muggy thanks to the high rate of humidity, but he didn't mind that in the least. It felt nice after the below zero temperatures he had been experiencing in St. Canard.

Launchpad unloaded their bags quickly and told them he'd take care of the plane while the two of them got their currency switched out and purchased a rental car. Separating with a wave, Drake and Gosalyn headed inside the small terminal and we're immediately greeted by a tall, friendly duck with tanned feathers and long, dark hair.

"Welcome to Jacova, my friends. I trust your flight was good?" He received their nods with a smile. "We're dedicated to making sure our tourists have the best experience possible and we have everything you need to get around our fair island. Help yourself to any one of our complimentary maps or tourist attraction guides. And make sure you grab a free bottle of water before you go." He told them, pointing to a cooler packed with bottled water. "We know how hot it can be for our visitors and we want you to be comfortable. If you have any questions at all, let us know."

"Yes, thank you very much." Drake replied, thinking that a bottle of water sounded good indeed. He was already sweating and he'd only been there a few minutes.

Walking over to the cooler, he handed one to Gosalyn before taking one for himself. He was about to open it, when he saw the picture on the label and stopped. It portrayed what looked like a giant wave come to life, with other smaller waves flowing around it. He couldn't put a finger on it, but there was something about the design that looked familiar. Staring at it intently, he began reaching in his pocket for a magnifying glass, when he was startled by his daughter's nagging voice.

"What are you doing, Dad?" She said in a tell tale tone, with her arms crossed.

"Well–er, I mean, uh, nothing-nothing at all!" He ended with a nervous chuckle as he hastily tore open the bottle and took a swig of the water.

"I knew you wouldn't last five minutes without going into one of your crime fighting frenzies. I guess that voids our deal, huh?"

"Shows what you know." He shot back, irritated with both himself and her. "I didn't actually do anything, so there's nothing to void. Unless of course, you're chickening out?" He added the dig, knowing that she would take the bait. He wasn't disappointed, as she immediately gave him a huffy reply.

"You wish."

Her father ignored the remark, proceeded to change currencies and then check out a small rental car. As they exited the terminal, they met up with Launchpad again and stuffed all of their luggage into the trunk and part of the backseat. Once inside, Drake handed his daughter the money he promised, which she snatched out of his hand greedily.

"Don't spend it all in one place, kid." He remarked with a grin. Gosalyn stuck her tongue out at him as he started the engine.

"All right, vacation here we come!"

******

After a brief stint at the hotel to drop of their bags and change into beach wear, the trio made their way to a nearby beach just a few miles away. Taking in the fantastic view, smelling the fresh air and the warm sand underneath his webbed feet, he immediately found an unoccupied patch of sand and rolled out his beach towel. Planting his umbrella right beside it, he stretched out contentedly on his blanket thinking the only way this could be better is if he had a cold drink. As if reading his mind, Launchpad tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a pina colada garnished with the signature small umbrella in a coconut cup. Thanking him as his sidekick went back to setting up his own beach towel, he took a sip and lay back down again, trying to figure out the last time he'd felt so relaxed.

_Maybe there are some perks to just being ordinary Drake Mallard. I should take advantage of them more often…_

There were a lot of other people surrounding him, such as Gosalyn and some other kids building sand castles, teenagers playing games of volleyball and several couples strolling languidly down the beach, but he was able to tune them out with ease. Or at least, he was, until he heard something that caught his attention:

"But I just don't get it. The arrival of that new vendor, the people's belongings disappearing, not to mention the strange behavior of the aquatic life in these past few weeks…they have to be connected somehow!"

"I've told you once and I'll tell you again. You're just bringing in worries from the cold. You've investigated the vendor and the missing items a couple times now and you've got no evidence to back up your claims. Give it a rest already."

Drake instinctively turned around to examine the two speakers behind him. Though the uniforms were different from anything he'd ever seen before, the pair were both clearly police officers. The first speaker was a tall duck woman with tan feathers and straight dark black hair pulled back in a tight braid. The other was a buff male duck with tan feathers and dyed blond hair. They were both wearing blue visors with tan shorts and a light blue tunic, though it was clear by the differences in the number of badges that the larger duck was a senior officer.

"But if you just give me one more chance, I'm sure –"

"I've already given you plenty of chances." He interrupted sternly with a wave of his hand. "Any more empty investigations will tarnish our forces' reputation. Just let it go."

The senior officer walked away, leaving the aggravated young woman behind him. She stubbornly stared at the ground for a minute, before strutting forward quickly to catch up.

"Hmm…disappearing belongings, a mysterious new vendor and strange occurrences in the oceanic sector…" He sat up dramatically, raising his arm into the air. "This sounds like a job for –"

A firm, exaggerated couple of coughs from Launchpad cut off his speech and Drake drew back from his glare with a small nervous grin.

"–f-for the local authorities to take care of."

The pilot nodded at this statement and went back to sipping on his pina colada. Not one to be turned away that easily, the short mallard rung his hands together piteously and stared at Launchpad with an imploring expression.

"Oh come on, LP. One little case like that can't hurt."

"No way, Drake. You promised Gosalyn and me that you wouldn't do any crime fighting while we were here. A deal's a deal, you know. You came here to take a break and that's exactly what we're going to do."

"Oh, fine, have it your way…" He mumbled sullenly as he lay back down on his blanket, trying to push the information from his mind.

Just as he was getting loosened up again, a pile of sand flew right into his face. Coughing and rubbing it out of his eyes, he saw that Gosalyn had stopped from a run right in front of him, causing the gust of sand that was currently choking him. Clearing his throat, he glared at his impudent daughter, but if she either didn't notice her Dad's expression or didn't care.

"Hi Dad! I was wondering if it would be okay for me to explore farther down the beach. I want see how far it stretches and get a closer look at some of the ships on the docks over there." She pointed clear to the other side of the beach, where the harbor was located. He could see everything from small fishing boats, to large cruise ships sailing out on the coast. Remembering her comment earlier about sneaking aboard a fancy ship, he put his best stern, yet concerned paternal look on his face.

"Absolutely not, young lady. I won't have you walking around in a strange place by yourself."

"Oh come on, Dad. It's just a little stroll down the beach. What could possibly happen?"

"I said no Gosalyn. We're not arguing about this."

The red haired duckling put her hands on her hips and stood in a stance that clearly said she was not taking that for an answer. Seeing the storm brewing between the two mallards, Launchpad cut in with a cheerful suggestion:

"Hey, why don't I go with Gosalyn down the beach? I can keep an eye on her while she explores the surroundings."

"You sure about that LP?" Drake asked, not wanting to burden his sidekick.

"Course I'm sure. I've wanted to take some pictures of the scenery anyway, so this'll work out perfectly."

"Well, okay," he conceded, knowing his spunky little daughter would be in good hands with his friend, "but I want you to stay where Launchpad can see you. No wandering off."

"Sure Dad." She told him carelessly as she took Launchpad's hand and helped him to his feet. "Come on, Launchpad, let's go!"

"Later, Drake!" He called over his shoulder as the two hurried off toward the harbor.

The short mallard watched the pair of them for a moment before settling back down on his blanket. Casting aside his worries, absently sipped his drink, happy to finally have some uninterrupted rest and relaxation.

******

Gosalyn strolled along obediently beside Launchpad as the pair made their way down the beach. They weren't going fast enough for her taste, especially with the pilot's frequent stops to snap a photo of the scenery, the natives or anything else that caught his eye. However, being the opportunistic little duckling that she was, she knew it was for the best if she kept quiet for now. Gosalyn was an expert at looking for openings and taking advantage of them, as proven by the many times she had escaped her father's watch when he was fighting crime. She wanted to take a look at the docks and see all the different ships, especially those fancy cruise ships that all the rich people boarded for vacations.

They kept going at the moderate pace and just when Gosalyn thought she couldn't take much more of it, Launchpad stopped to take another couple of pictures of the ocean only a few feet away from the harbor. Grinning slyly behind his large back, she cleared her throat and replaced the grin with the best innocent kid look on her face that she could.

"Hey Launchpad," she asked in a small, pleading voice, "would it be okay if I took a closer look at the harbor while you take your pictures?"

"I'm sorry Gosalyn, but remember what your Dad told you." Launchpad informed her with a distracted tone as he fiddled with the zoom lens on his camera. "He doesn't want you wandering off in a strange place."

"Well, _technically_, I wouldn't be wandering off because the docks are right over there." She said in an innocent tone, pointing to her target location even though the larger duck wasn't looking at her. "As long as I stay in sight, I'm not really breaking any rules, right?"

She watched the sidekick intently as he straightened up a bit and put a hand under his chin, clearly considering her statement.

"Huh, ya know, that makes a lotta sense. Okay, Gos, you can go," her father's friend said, turning around to look her in the eye, "but only if you promise me that you won't go any farther than the harbor."

"I promise!" The red haired duckling exclaimed quickly, stealthily crossing her fingers behind her back. "Well, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Not waiting for a reply, Gosalyn sprinted off towards the docks, a triumphant grin stretching across her bill. Quickly reaching the stone steps that led to the docks, she climbed them two at a time until she got to the top.

Standing on the wooden dock, she walked forward a few paces to get a closer look at the ships. She had never seen so many in the same place before. They ranged from the small native fishing boats, to the larger fishing vessels and there were even a few large cruise ships. Though all the movement and activities going on around the docks were interesting, Gosalyn still wanted a closer look at those huge cruise vessels.

Just as she was about head towards them, she stopped abruptly when she smelled a sweet scent. It was faint, but very alluring at the same time. Intrigued, the little red haired duckling decided to try to find out where it was coming from.

Determining that the smell was a little stronger behind her, she turned around and began walking down the street towards what looked to be the local market place. The different vendors were selling everything from food to very artistic wood carvings. She thought about going up to one particular stand that was selling some pretty elaborate Hawaiian style shirts, but the scent was still lingering in her mind and seemed to coax her farther down the path. Glancing back and forth booths absently, she noticed that the sweet smell had developed a flowery, almost fruit-like quality.

It was around this time that Gosalyn noticed her mind going fuzzy and her feet seemed to move of their own accord, following the track of the smell. Walking a few more feet in a daze, she stopped moving entirely when she stood in front of a large, long booth with a fancy gimmick of a large wave on the front of it.

_I've seen that logo before…_Gosalyn thought to herself absently, having trouble remaining cognizant. …_Where…?_

She never got a chance to finish her thought process ended as the sweet scent filled her nostrils and cleared her mind. Gazing hazily in front of her, the last thing she saw was a man in a long brown jacket covering him from head to toe.

******

Back on the beach, Drake Mallard had finally decided he had lain around on the warm sands long enough. Rolling up his blanket and folding his umbrella, he decided he should join his sidekick and his daughter in viewing the terrain.

Even though the beach was crowded, it didn't take long for the short mallard to spot his large, bulky friend from a distance. As he got closer, however, it also didn't take him long to notice that his daughter was not with him. Jogging up to his friend, who seemed to be frantically searching from side to side, he didn't waste any time in asking questions.

"LP, where's Gosalyn? I thought you were going to keep an eye on her."

"I was and I swear she was here just a second ago. I mean, I was just here taking a picture of the scenery right next to the docks and then she said she wanted to take a closer look at the ships and-"

"What?! And you just let her go, is that it?" Drake asked infuriated, his temper getting the better of him. Launchpad just raised his hands in protest, knowing how worked up his friend could get.

"Well, no, I didn't just let her go. You see, she told me that as long as she stayed in my sight, it wasn't wandering off, so it was okay for her to go to the docks since I could see them. I made her promise she wouldn't go any farther than that, she agreed and then she left…" He quickly explained, his voice getting quieter until it trailed off at the end as he watched the other duck's facial expression darken considerably.

"Oh, I don't believe this!" He groaned, slapping a hand across his face. "When I get my hands on Gosalyn, she is going to be grounded for a month! Come on, LP, we gotta find her!"

The pair of them began running towards the stone steps by the pier, but before either of them reached it, they saw who they were looking for. Gosalyn was walking slowly down the stairs on to the sand. Both of them stopped when they got close to her and Drake might have found it odd for his daughter to walking in such a halting, deliberate manner, if he hadn't been so torn between relief and rage at her actions.

"Gosalyn, there you are!" Drake snapped angrily. "I thought I told you not to wander off!"

Expecting some type of quick, childish explanation, he was a bit surprised when she just met his eyes with a blank stare. She almost looked like she was sleepwalking. Finally, she shook her head, popping out of her daze. It finally seemed to be registering to her what was going on. Ignoring the odd spectacle, suspecting that this was some type of new tactic to get out of a lecture, he continued speaking.

"And what are you doing with all that stuff? Don't tell me you spent you're money on that?"

"Huh?" Gosalyn replied after a moment before looking down at her arms. She was carrying a small Hawaiian shirt, some cheap necklaces, bottles of sun tan lotion, a small potted hibiscus flower and a blue handbag filled with water bottles, among other small items. "Hey, where did this stuff come from?"

"Gosalyn that has got to be the lamest excuse you have ever given me. You bought the stuff with your money. You ought to know where it came from."

"But Dad, I really don't remember buying any of this!" The little red haired duckling whined in confusion. "I was just wandering around by the vendors' booths, checking out some of their cool stuff and then-"

"Ah, ah, ah, stop right there, missy." He said sternly with a wave of his finger. "Lying to me isn't going to help you out of this mess. Now, tell me the truth, did you spend all your money on this stuff?"

He watched his daughter dig through her pockets and when they turned up empty; she looked at him with a frustrated expression. Drake took that as all the confirmation he needed and shook his head.

"Well, Gos, you know what our agreement was. Once you ran out of money, I wasn't going to give you anymore and I'm sticking by my word."

"But Dad–"Gosalyn interrupted, but he wouldn't listen.

"No 'buts.' I'm sorry that you had to learn about budgeting this way, but it's time that you took some fiscal responsibility. When you get a job and start earning your own money, maybe you'll take better care of it. Now, come on, it's getting late. We should be getting back to the hotel."

Drake insisted that he hold his daughter's hand after her latest discretion, so she gave Launchpad some of her stuff to free up one of her hands. As the trio made their way back to their hotel room, Gosalyn pouted the entire way down the beach listening inattentively to Launchpad and her father's idle chatter. Glancing behind her in the direction of the market place, she tried to remember when and how she spent her money, but drew nothing but blanks. Pushing the strange incident from her mind for the moment, she took in the sight of the sun glistening against the waves, determined not to let this event ruin her vacation.

******

Author's note: Alright, chapter two is up! I hope you enjoyed this much longer update to the story. So far, Darkwing's kept his word and hasn't done any crime fighting and Gosalyn hasn't gotten in to too much trouble…yet…Things should pick up a bit in chapter three, which I'll try to have up as soon as I can. Thanks for reading!


	3. The Sea Swiper

**The Sea Swiper**

******

It was a little past eight thirty when the trio returned to their hotel room on the third floor after they had eaten dinner at a local restaurant recommended by the hotel's staff. The room itself had two twin sized beds with a foldout couch, a small television complete with a video game console, a small refrigerator and one bathroom. The two adults had claimed the beds, while Gosalyn had been perfectly content with the fold out couch. Overall, Drake was actually quite pleased with what he had gotten for the price he'd paid for it.

As soon as he opened the door, Gosalyn rushed into the room, flipped off her shoes and bounced onto her fold out bed. The souvenirs she'd accumulated earlier, which she still couldn't remember how she got, were piled on the left side of her bed by the window. She gave them a nasty look before she glanced over to see what her father was doing.

"Are you going to bed already, Dad?" She asked incredulously as he pulled out his pajamas from his suitcase. "It's only eight thirty!"

"Now, now missy, you should know that one of the keys to maintaining your health is a solid sleep schedule."

"Uh-huh. I'm sure you follow that rule religiously seeing as you're the terror that flaps in the night and all." She rolled her eyes before drawing back a little from her father's ugly glare.

"She's got ya there, DW." Launcpad cut in with his normal cheerful voice. The short mallard gave him an aggravated look.

"Launchpad, you're not helping."

"Sorry Drake, but it is a _little_ early. Why don't we watch a movie to pass a little time before bed?"

"Yahoo!" Gosalyn shouted jumping up and down on her bed. "How about 'Zombies vs. Vampires IV' where the two rival monster groups fight for domination, while feeding on the flesh of the remaining normal civilians, sucking out their blood, eating their brains, ripping out their intestines…"

"Gee, um, I was hoping for a something a little more relaxing." The pilot informed her with a nauseated look as she continued to list off the gory details.

Drake grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV to see the movies that he could order for their room. Scanning the list briefly, his face lit up when he saw one of his all time favorite films.

"Not to worry, LP. For tonight's movie will be a superhero classic: 'Batduck and Robin.'"

The red haired duckling's face fell considerably at this statement. "Dad," Gosalyn whined, "Launchpad said 'relaxing' not mind numbing and painful."

"This from the girl who won't watch anything except B movies with Beelzebub's flesh eating minions. Now this, on the other hand, is classic cinema and it might just reverse all the brain rotting you've accumulated from those horror flicks."

Seeing that his daughter still wasn't satisfied and was going to continue the argument, he decided to try a different tactic. Putting the most neutral expression on his face that he could, he cut her off before she could continue speaking.

"Tell you what Gosalyn. If you pay for the movie, then you can choose which one we watch."

An evil grin made its way across his beak as he watched her glower at him, reminding her of how she had already spent all of her money and lost their agreement.

"Well, since you don't have any money,_ I_ get to pick which movie we watch." He gloated immaturely, grabbing the remote from her hands. "And _I_ say that we're watching the classic 'Batduck and Robin' movie and that's final."

Gosalyn's let out a heavy groan as her father turned back to the TV to order the old movie. She quickly laid her head down on her pillow and crossed her arms with a scowl. Launchpad, who had been watching the scene with a bit of pity for the little duckling, noticed that his seemingly bottomless stomach had started grumbling. In truth, he was no more interested in watching the movie then his friend's grumpy daughter and decided this would be the perfect exit strategy.

"Ya know, I'm a little hungry." Launcpad told Drake as he pressed the play button on the remote. "I think I'll grab myself some snacks."

"How can you be hungry?" His friend raised an incredulous eyebrow, putting his hands on his hips. "You had two whole tropical fish for dinner, not to mention two sides of mashed potatoes, a bowl of clam chowder, a plate of crab cakes on top of brown rice, a large seafood salad, an order of the house specialty soup, a whole basket of bread with honey butter, and you even had crème brule for dessert."

"Wow, that's _all_ I had today," he remarked in astonishment. "No wonder I'm still hungry. I usually eat at least twice that much."

"Launchpad," Darkwing queried with a hand over his stomach, looking as though he was about to be sick, "do you, by any chance, have any bovine relatives? It might explain why you have four stomachs."

"Huh?"

"Oh, forget it, LP. Just go get your snacks."

Shaking off his confusion, he waved to his friend who was now sitting on his bed, looking excited as his movie started. "I'll be right back, Drake. See ya later!"

Exciting the room quickly, happy to have escaped from the old super hero film temporarily, he took the elevator down to the main floor. The large pilot spanned both sides of the long hallway and main lobby area before finally finding a vending machine. He was about to put his money in when he noticed the 'Out of Order' sign posted on the machine and the strange spitting noises coming from it. Annoyed, but not deterred, he went out the main doors of the hotel in search of a small convenience store.

Looking back and forth at both sides of the street, Launchpad didn't see anything that was open. Not ready to give up yet, the sidekick began strolling down to his right, noticing how few street lights there were in comparison to St. Canard. Taking a quick glance upward, all of his vexation with his situation disappeared as he took in the beauty of the night sky. Launchpad had always lived in the city and he couldn't remember if he'd ever seen this many stars in his whole life. Whistling to himself, he continued to walk and admire the stars, not really watching where he was going. Before he knew it, he was at the same harbor the trio had been to that afternoon and he stopped when a pleasant scent hit his nostrils. Curious in spite of himself, he tore his eyes away from the sky and began following the sweet smell down a side street.

_Hey, this looks like some kind of bazaar. _The pilot thought cheerfully, examining all the stalls and empty booths that would be filled with goods come morning. _Maybe if I keep going I'll find something that's still…_He tried to focus as his mind began getting fuzzy…_still open_…_maybe they even have…have something sweet…like that… scent…_

Launchpad allowed his hazy mind to shut off, letting his feet lead the way to his destination.

******

Gosalyn Mallard was staring at the TV screen in front of her with complete disinterest and checked the clock for what seemed to be the hundredth time. She couldn't believe it had only been a little over a half hour and she fervently wished that she had gone with Launchpad to get some junk food.

"Boy, it sure is taking Launchpad a long time to come back. Maybe we should go find him." She remarked, looking for any opening that would get her out of the movie. Her father was so captivated that he couldn't take his eyes off the screen, making punching motions to go along with the overly cheesy fight scene.

"Oh, you know LP. He probably got sidetracked and forgot why he left our room in the first place." Drake told her in a distracted tone. "It's nothing to worry about."

Heaving an exasperated sigh, she heard the lock turn and Darkwing's faithful sidekick came through the door with a deeply puzzled expression on his face.

"Hey, Launchpad! What took you so long?" Gosalyn asked, wondering if the pilot had gotten some candy to go with the movie. That's when she noticed all the random items he was carrying, none of which looked remotely like food. "What's all that stuff?"

The short mallard turned at his daughter's question and saw that his sidekick had several bottles of sun tan lotion in his thick arms, a cheap looking Hawaiian shirt, a potted plant, several pairs of plastic sunglasses and a visor.

"LP, what is all this?" Drake examined the items briefly before giving his friend a look that said that he might have lost his all his marbles. "I thought you said you were going to get some food."

"Ya know, it's funny that ya say that. I thought so too, but…" The larger duck trailed off, scratching his head in confusion. "I dunno what happened. One minute I was walking down the street searching for a convenience store and the next thing I know I'm back in the lobby of the hotel with all this stuff in my arms."

The shorter mallard tilted his head curiously as he took in the information and picked up one of the bottles of sun tan lotion his friend was carrying.

"Why would you have bought this?" He questioned with something prodding the back of his mind as he glanced down at the label. There was a familiarity to it that he couldn't quite place. "I thought you already had sun tan lotion."

"I dunno, DW. Like I said, I can't remember how I got any of this."

Sensing a mystery at hand, Drake was about to let himself going into crime fighting mode when he remembered his promise to his sidekick and his side of the deal with his daughter. Clearing his throat to cover up the awkward silence, he quipped back in a causal voice:

"That's no surprise. You can't even remember what you had for breakfast in the morning on any given day. At least tell me that you got some kind of receipt after you purchased all this junk."

Dropping all the stuff on his bed, Drake's sidekick sifted through the pile and picked up a small business card. He gave the card an odd look before handing it to his friend.

"Doesn't look like I got a receipt, but do you think this'll do?"

Taking a look at the card, he saw four tropical flowers designs in each corner with a wave in the background. On top of the wave graphic was a row of cursive text that said, "We appreciate your business and hope that we'll see you again soon." Flipping it over and seeing that the other side was blank, Drake frowned in suspicion.

"What kind of business card is this? No company name, no address, no phone number, not even an e-mail address! It's almost as if they don't want to be found..." He trailed off as he realized he was going into Darkwing mode. The shorter mallard berated himself again as his daughter spoke up for the first time.

"Well, with the way they're running their business, it's better for their sakes if I don't find them." Gosalyn muttered darkly as she balled her right hand into a fist and shook it. "I'll show em a thing or two about taking money from Gosalyn Mallard!"

"You're going to do no such thing." Drake informed her sternly. "I'm sorry that you spent your money the way you did, but you can't get angry at the vendors for _your_ choices."

"But Dad!" She stared at him in disbelief. "Don't you think it's a little weird that both me and Launchpad ended up with a pile of junk that we don't remember how we bought? We even have some of the same stuff! Like that potted plant over there!" She pointed to the red hibiscus flower in the middle of the bed. "I got the exact same one this afternoon. I think these creeps are cheating people out of their money and we should do something to stop them!"

"Gee, maybe she's right DW. Something weird seems to be going on around here."

"Even if there is," Drake said with a sigh, "the local authorities will take care of it, like you said earlier today."

"But DW," Launchpad argued, thinking back to the conversation he'd heard between the two cops, "what if this is too much for them to handle? Maybe this case requires a more experienced hand."

"Launchpad you're the one who made the no crime fighting rule on vacation in the first place, remember?"

Launchpad's bill snapped shut abruptly and he shifted his gaze to the ground. Drake shrugged and sat back down on the bed.

"Tomorrow morning we'll go back to the place where you got all that stuff, LP and you can try to return the things you don't need. You at least remember the general direction of where you got that stuff, right?"

"Um…I guess I do." The pilot said after a pause to think it over.

"Good, then it's settled." Drake replied going back to his movie. "We'll take care of it tomorrow."

As Drake Mallard became engrossed in his film once more, Launchpad exchanged worried looks with Gosalyn. Sighing, the pilot now fervently wished he hadn't forced his friend to make that promise.

******

Drake Mallard woke up from his peaceful slumber the next morning to the sound of frantic rustling. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes and sitting up groggily, he searched for the source of the noise and saw Launchpad shuffling through his duffle bag. Piles of clothes were scattered all over the floor as the pilot continued emptying his bag.

"Launchpad, what in the world are you doing?"

His sidekick didn't look at him as he answered, still furiously searching his bag.

"It's my visor. Ya know, the one I brought with the wings stitched into the brim. I got it as a parting gift from a friend of mine at Scrooge's manor when I left for St. Canard. I had it yesterday and now I can't find it anywhere!"

"Are you sure you can't just remember where you left it?"

"No," Launcpad shook his head in frustration. "I'm positive that I left it right here on top of my clothes and this morning it was gone. Not only that, but my sun tan lotion and my pair of sunglasses are gone too."

Drake put his feet on the floor, stood up and stretched with a yawn.

"Don't worry, LP. Everyone knows that inanimate objects don't just get up and walk away. I'll help you look for them."

However, after a half hours search, where they virtually tore apart the hotel room, the missing items still hadn't turned up. As the pair of them checked under their beds for what seemed like the tenth time, Gosalyn finally woke up and stretched.

"Hey, what're you guys doing? Playing hide and seek?"

"I wish." Launcpad replied sheepishly. "You haven't seen a visor, a bottle of fifty SPF sun tan lotion or my sunglasses, have you?"

Gosalyn processed the list of items and shook her head sleepily.

"Sorry Launchpad, but I just woke up. When did you lose them?"

"That's just it Gos, I didn't lose them. They just disappeared when I woke up this morning."

Seeing her friend's distress made her check both sides of her bed quickly, but when she didn't see any of the mentioned items, she turned back to him with a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry Launchpad. I wish there was something I could do."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much." Drake told his friend, grabbing his clothes out of his suitcase, heading to the bathroom and quickly changing out of his pajamas. Coming back out and still seeing the discouraged expression on the face of his sidekick, he sighed and tried to find a suitable compromise.

"Tell you what. Why don't we go down to the lobby and get some breakfast? Maybe if we take a break from the situation, we'll come back and be able to look at it from angles we hadn't thought of before."

Knowing that his friend was trying to cheer him up, the pilot nodded, though not with as much enthusiasm as he normally would have. Gosalyn, on the other hand, was bouncing up and down on her bed, having more than enough enthusiasm to make up for any that Launchpad was lacking.

"Oh, boy, I love breakfast foods! I'm gonna have a cinnamon roll, with a bowl of frosted flakes and one of those big chocolate muffins…"

"Ah, ah, ah, not so fast young lady! I'm paying for your food and I'm not getting you any of that sugary junk to eat. You're eating a healthy meal of oatmeal, fruit and yogurt."

"Aw, Dad, are you trying to kill me?" His daughter queried petulantly, making gagging noises and pretending to choke herself. "It should be a crime to force anyone to eat that stuff!"

"Very funny, young lady, but this is another important lesson you should learn about not having your own money. When you don't have your own source of income and rely on other people's earnings, you lose your freedom to choose. When you have your own job and start earning your own money, you'll understand the value of a solid work ethic and you'll be less likely to blow everything on useless junk."

"Fine," Gosalyn crossed her arms and sulked on her fold out bed. "I just won't go to breakfast then."

"Suit yourself." Drake replied neutrally, not wanting to reward his daughter childish behavior by arguing or getting angry. "Then, you'll just have to wait here until I bring you back something from the lobby."

"See ya later Gos!" Launchpad called out to her as they left the room.

Once her father and his sidekick were gone, Gosalyn began punching her pillow, tired of feeling like she was having life lessons shoved down her throat. After a few minutes, she got bored of this exercise and decided she might as well get dressed. Once the red haired duckling had pulled on her usual purple jersey, she lay back down on her bed, stared at the ceiling and began thinking out loud.

"Hmm…Dad said I should stay here and wait for him to bring me my breakfast. But, on the other hand, he also said that it was important for me to learn my lesson about money. Being waited on like this certainly doesn't teach my anything about the 'work ethic' that goes with earning money."

She began grinning deviously as she continued conversing with herself. "So, if earning my own money is more important then staying here, then I should find a means of income to support myself! And I know just the place to start. I'll show Dad that I understand a thing or two about money." Her decision made, the little red haired duckling raced towards the door in anticipation. "That cinnamon roll is as good as mine!"

******

Gosalyn hastily made her way to the elevator and went to the ground floor, carefully avoiding the conference room where breakfast was being served. Running out the door, she wove skillfully in between the crowded throngs of people until she reached the pier she had been at yesterday afternoon. The spirited duckling made her way down the docks and wasn't disappointed as she saw several luxurious cruise ships. She knew all too well that many of these ships had their own private casinos. Match that with her incredible luck and skill at card games, Gosalyn knew that her pockets would be lined with cash again soon enough.

_After all,_ she added with a smug grin, rubbing her hands together in anticipation, _Dad just told me that I had to earn my money. He didn't make any rules about __**how**__ I earned it._

Spotting a particularly large, luxurious looking cruise ship docked at the port called _The Sea Swiper_, her grin widened, sensing victory in her grasp.

_Perfect! Now, all I have to do is sneak on and I'm in business._

Looking for an opening, she spotted some dockworkers taking some boxes in through a side entrance. Most of the workers were middle aged men, but she did spot a few younger boys who were around her age carrying in some of the smaller boxes. Tip toeing up to the cargo unobtrusively, she waited until the last worker had grabbed his box before taking a smaller one and filling in at the end. Moving up the ramp, she kept her head down so that the security guard couldn't see her face and boarded the vessel. Once she was a safe distance away from the entrance, she dropped the box in the hallway and started exploring the ship.

Running excitedly, dodging through the wealthy passengers, Gosalyn skidded to a halt when she saw exactly what she was looking for through a large set of red double doors. It was a banquet sized room full of card tables, roulettes, lotteries and slot machines.

"Keen gear!" She whispered in awe as she glanced back and forth between all the different machines. Deciding she should start with something easy, she made her way to the slot machines.

Searching underneath the rotating stools by each machine, the red haired duckling finally spotted a lone quarter. Snatching it up quickly, Gosalyn slid it into the slot machine, sat on the stool and pulled the lever. Crossing her fingers, she gave a cheer as three cherries lined up and quarters began spilling out of the tray onto the floor. Jumping down to neatly pile up her money, she smiled victoriously at her already increased revenue.

_See, nothing to it! Dad'll be eating his words when he sees how much I made today._

Playing the slots ten more times, Gosalyn was thrilled by her good luck, winning round after round. After the last pull, she estimated she must have at least a fifty dollars worth of quarters. Glancing back and forth, she spotted a well-dressed duck cashier behind a counter in the far corner and she sprinted in his direction. Skidding to a stop and jumping up on a stool, she coughed to get his attention.

"Excuse me, kind sir, "she said in the sweetest, innocent little girl voice she could muster, "you wouldn't happen to have a bag lying around that I could borrow, would you?"

"Sure thing, young lady," he said with a smile, handing her a large brown sack that they gave out to help their customers carry their winnings. "Just be sure to bring it back when you're done with it, okay?"

"I will! Thank you!"

Not waiting another second, she rushed back to her station and began scooping all of her quarters into the bag. Once she got them all in, Gosalyn took one quarter out, thinking that she would have one more round on the slot machine. Just as she was about to pull the lever, a large, pudgy hand landed over hers, causing her to turn around on her stool. She was met with the face of an oily, scowling rat with large buck teeth, a thin mustache, thick black eyebrows and equally greasy black hair. He was wearing a fancy button down white dress shirt that looked as if it were straining to hold in his bulging belly, a black overcoat and black slacks that were hemmed to fit his stubby legs.

_Ewww. He reminds me of Tuskerninni in rat form…_Gosalyn thought, trying not to make a face.

"And what exactly do you think _you're_ doing?" The rat asked pompously, his hand still firmly planted over the red haired duckling's. "I'm sure you're aware that the casino is not open to minors."

"Well, some dumb rules are meant to be broken." Gosalyn replied sticking out her tongue. "What's it to ya, anyway?"

"**I** am the owner of this ship," the rat snapped back, annoyed at the insolent tone. He was satisfied as he watched the little girl shrink back, aware that she had just gotten herself into a lot of trouble. "And **I** will make sure that the rules are upheld," he added yanking her arm, causing her to fall off the stool and on to the floor. "We'll see how spirited you are when your parents find out exactly what you've done."

Gosalyn quickly snatched her sack of quarters before she was dragged off by the rat owner, who was surprisingly strong in spite of his flabby figure. Just as they exited the double doors, however, two crew members ran up to the owner, attempting to speak to him.

"Not now! Can't you see I'm busy?" He growled, trying to wave them off.

"But sir!" The taller of the two shouted after him as he started walking off. "We were sent to tell you that your special delivery has arrived and is waiting for you in the cargo hold."

The pudgy rat visibly stiffened and turned around to glare ferociously at the two younger men. The pair took a step back, wondering if they had done something wrong.

"Have either of you spoken of this to anyone else?"

The voice held a dangerous undertone to it and both of them shook their heads vehemently.

"N-No sir! Of course not, sir. I-It just arrived a few minutes ago…"

Sighing in relief, the rat pulled out a sizeable wad of cash from his coat pocket, divided it in half and handed it to the two crew members.

"See that you don't."

Pocketing the money quickly, the pair nodded again before walking off hurriedly in the other direction. Dropping Gosalyn's arm, he glared down at her in annoyance.

"I'll deal with you later! Just be thankful I have more pressing matters to attend to right now."

Without another word, the owner raced off in the direction of the cargo hold. Gosalyn stared after him for a minute, knowing that she should be getting away…

_But what's this 'special delivery' he's so worried about? I think I smell a rat, well, in the figurative sense anyway._

Letting curiosity get the better of her, the spirited duckling slung her bag over her shoulder and raced down the stairs, following the rat's trail. Heading down the stairs, she slowed down as she quietly opened the door to the bottom level of the ship and peaked in to see if she was in the clear. Seeing no one in the corridor, she shut the door quietly and snuck down the passage way.

Keeping her ears open, she heard the shrill, angry voice of the owner coming from the second door from the end. Creeping up to it, she peered in through the small crack in the door to see the pudgy rat was now accompanied by two men in brown trench coats that covered their figures from head to toe. The one on the right was a bit shorter and much thinner than the man to his left. Both men were wearing hats that covered their faces, however, so Gosalyn couldn't make out their complexions. The only thing that she could really see was that the taller of the two had a pair of really odd looking blue eyes that seemed to glow underneath his hat.

"Would you two **mind** being a little more careful next time?!" The owner told them in a put upon voice. "If anyone finds out what's going on down here then I'll be ruined!"

"Our apologies valued sir," The one on the left answered smoothly. "We both give you our word, with no fine print attached, that such an incident will not happen again any time soon."

The greasy rat opened his mouth to continue the argument, but the man on the left held up a finger and continued speaking in an odd gargle that the little red haired duckling was sure she'd heard before.

"But wait, there's more! As a limited time added bonus, my associate and I will give you a little extra cash on this upcoming rental payment." The shorter man on the right gave a quick nod of affirmation. "After all, if you're not satisfied, we're not satisfied."

_Wait a minute! I'd recognize that sleazy advertising anywhere. That's Liquidator! But what's he doing here? _Gosalyn questioned before shaking her head. _Well, never mind that for now. He's obviously up to no good. I've got to go get Dad!_

Jumping up from the squat she'd been in, Gosalyn slung her bag over her shoulder and started to run when she bumped into something. Looking down, her green eyes widened as she saw the red hibiscus flower that had been bundled in with her souvenirs. Only this time, it wasn't potted; it had sprouted roots and was carrying a visor with wings stitched into the brim, a pair of sunglasses and a large canister of fifty SPF sun tan lotion.

"Why you overgrown weed! That's Launchpad's stuff! You give that back or I'll—Hey!!!"

Gosalyn found herself dangling above the ground as a hand roughly grabbed her collar and hoisted her up. She struggled fiercely as she was brought into the room with the owner and the still disguised Liquidator.

"She was spying on us in the corridor. What should we do with her?"

The spirited young duckling, still struggling against the hold, glared up into the face of her captor and saw purple strands of hair sticking out from underneath his hat along with a familiar green complexion.

"Why you little brat!" The pudgy rat snarled, clenching his yellowed teeth. Turning back to the disguised Liquidator, his face softened considerably as he wrung his hands together. "My sincerest apologies to both of you gentlemen for this child's unsightly intrusion. In truth, I was just about to take care of her when you called. Please, let me to remedy this situation."

"Good sir, allow your worries to dissipate." The water dog in the brown jacket responded with a casual wave of his hand. "Fixing snags in the contract and providing convenient solutions is one of the perks of working with my associate and me."

His eerie blue eyes narrowed as they met Gosalyn's and she gulped nervously.

"Yes, making sure that business ventures are carried out no matter what the cost or the sacrifices that have to be made is not a goal, but a guarantee."

******

Author's note: Hmm, this chapter seemed a little slow to me, but the next one should pick up the pace. After all, when has Darkwing ever really trusted anyone to solve a case other than him? Well, I hope you enjoyed!


	4. New Information

**New Information**

******

Gosalyn wriggled around in Bushroot's grasp in the hopes of freeing herself, while Liquidator's hollow blue eyes continued to glare at her from underneath his hat. The tubby rat, who was the ship's owner and in cahoots with the two villains, was nervously glancing between the three of them obviously wondering what his best choice of action was at the moment. Putting on what he considered was a charming smile, which looked incredibly fake to the young duckling, he addressed the disguised Liquidator once more.

"I believe your proposition for disposal of this impudent brat is a tribute to your good business sense." The rat informed him with a flattering tone. "I shall leave this matter in your capable hands.. Now, about my 'special delivery?'"

"We have brought it with us, right on time as per our contract." Liquidator's watery salesman voice reassured. "However, given today's unfortunate circumstances, my business partner and I will add a bonus to this week's pay check. Will an extra thousand dollars be a suitable payment for your damages?"

"That will be more than satisfactory." The owner said with a greedy glint in his beady eyes. "I suppose it will take a little longer to receive it, then?"

"Unfortunately, yes, but you have our iron clad guarantee that you will have received your money before the day has ended. Also, with this extra money comes the understanding between all of us that the child's fate is in our hands and their will be no talk of it from yours. Are the terms acceptable to you, Mr. Swiper?"

"Indeed they are." The rat turned away from the liquid villain to speak with Gosalyn in his oiliest tone. "Farewell, little one. I do try to accommodate all of the customers on my vessel for their full satisfaction, but sometimes one or two must slip through the cracks in the name of good business. I hope you'll understand."

Gosalyn's response was to aim a kick at the departing back of the ship owner, which just missed him as he waddled out of the room. She swung back and forth for a bit in Bushroot's grasp before bestowing her glare on the trench coat wearing villain in front of her.

"All right, you sleazy pile of salesman slime," she spat, refusing to show her nerves in spite of her situation, "what are you doing halfway across the world on this small tropical island?"

"Now, now, that's no way to speak to upper management," the liquid dog chided from beneath his long brimmed hat. "For that matter, didn't anyone ever teach you that it's impolite to listen in on a private conversation? Not to mention it is the number one way to seal the deal on your life if you come across the wrong information."

"Well, one hundred percent of my family and friends state that manners are wasted on super villains." Gosalyn sarcastically imitated his salesman jargon, then blew a raspberry as a conniving grin appeared on the water canine's face.

"Friends like Darkwing Duck, I presume?"

Gosalyn didn't respond, trying to keep her face as impassive as possible. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't at all deterred by her silence.

"I thought you looked familiar, so I've been pondering where I had seen you before when I remembered you were Darkwing Duck's signature poster child. If you're here, all market research says that he is too and could possibly be upset to find his biggest fan has gone missing. So tell me, what would **you** say your value is in terms of friendship with our caped witless wonder? Are you an acquaintance, a good friend or perhaps a best friend? Operators are standing by for the answer as it will determine the time remaining in your youthful existence."

The spirited duckling retained her silence for a moment, not wanting to give in to his demand. When she saw the blue eyes narrow and a scythe form on the end of one of his arms, she knew she couldn't hold out any longer.

"We're close." She said finally, hating herself for telling him.

"How close? Be sure to state the specifics of your partnership as time is running out on this once in a lifetime offer—literally." He added, waving his scythe about for emphasis.

"I help him out all the time against almost every villain he's ever come across. I travel with him and fight beside him against slime balls like you."

The ex-salesman ignored the jibe and placed a hand under his chin.

"Travel with him?" Liquidator said with interest. "Inquiring minds want to know if you've ever been to his hideout or perhaps know who he is?"

Dread filled her stomach as he continued to study her every move. The red haired duckling had forgotten how perceptive the Liquidator could be. She couldn't let him figure out the true nature of their relationship.

"I don't know anything!" She told him spiritedly, maintaining the same firm tone of voice she had for the whole conversation. She hoped that in keeping with her character he wouldn't suspect that she was hiding something from him. "And I wouldn't tell you if I did!"

Her heart beat a mile a minute as he continued to study her, clearly looking for any signs of deceit in her words. Finally, he removed his hand from his chin and put both hands on his hips with a shake of his head.

"Truly a pity. The Liquidator hates being shortchanged on what could have been the insider information of the century."

Gosalyn held in her sigh of relief, relaxing slightly in Bushroot's grip.

"Still," the aqua dog continued, "the Liquidator knows how to make a fast recovery on false promises and still remain on top. And to do that, my little captive viewer, you have been chosen to be the leverage for this Liquidator and Bushroot business operation."

"Yes," he put a wet finger to her beak before she could interrupt him once more, "with you in our grasp, Darkwing Duck will have little choice but to sit back and stay out of our way, lest you come to an unfortunate end."

Gosalyn paled a bit, knowing that the two villains couldn't know how right they were on that point. Her Dad would do anything for her and as soon as he knew that she had been captured, he would comply with whatever they asked of him just to get her back.

"Go ahead and try!" She taunted, covering up her inner turmoil. "Darkwing will foil whatever scheme you've come up with here just like he would in St. Canard. You'll both be back in St. Canard prison faster then you can say 'money back guarantee.'"

"Hmm, it seems that you have not read our last quarterly report." Liquidator replied sounding amused. "We have come up with the perfect marketing strategy to forcibly win over the earnings of the public with no cost to ourselves. It's so perfect that not even our now not-so-local nuisance of a crime fighter couldn't find a way to make us file for bankruptcy, no matter who's life hung in the balance."

She could think of nothing more to say to him that wouldn't just give her another slogan and pose as a response. Her abrupt silence made the former salesman feel as though he had won the argument. Crossing his arms smugly, his friendly marketing voice was replaced by a stiffer, commanding tone.

"Put our leverage in the next room with the rest of the junk and make sure she's tied up."

Nodding his understanding, the plant mutant turned on his roots and opened the door into the next room. Gosalyn shouted threats and insults all the while she was being carried, but her captor ignored her. Dropping her gracelessly on the floor, she had no time to react before several green roots tied around her wrists and ankles, effectively stopping her escape. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed that the roots belonged to the red hibiscus flower she had seen walking around with Launchpad's stuff.

"Just you wait! When I get myself untied, you're gonna wish you had never sprouted! I'll cut you up like a—oomph!"

Bushroot had picked up a bandana that was lying on the floor and tied it tightly over the Gosalyn's mouth.

"You're right," he beamed at the flower behind the noisy girl as he turned to leave, "that was a great idea."

The botanist only had to endure a moment more of the incessant muffled babbling before he loudly closed the door to their makeshift disposal room. Brushing his hands together, he headed back to the room where Liquidator was. Entering it slowly, the green duck stared awkwardly at his partner in crime as he thought out the best way to phrase what he wanted to say. He was pretty sure the ex-salesman wouldn't be pleased with his suggestion, but he had to try.

"Why so quiet, Reggie?" Liquidator asked with his normal charming smile. "That kid didn't give you any trouble, did she?"

Bushroot just shook his head and cleared his throat, trying to make his voice as strong as it could be.

"No, I bound and gagged her without much difficulty. It's more that, well, I was just thinking that maybe we ought to think about, you know, closing down shop early—perhaps permanently now that Darkwing Duck is in the area and could figure out what we're doing? I mean, we could just get out while we're ahead, you know?"

The plant mutant had tried not to betray his nervousness at the prospect of dealing with the terror that flaps in the night again, but he couldn't help wringing his hands a little. He also was pretty sure what his partner in crime's answer would be and his worst fears were fulfilled a moment later.

"Shut down a profitable operation while we are still well in the black and increasing our earnings with each passing day? Any Wall Street official would tell you that's sheer madness. Like I told that red haired brat, our scheme is absolutely fool proof. There's no way Darkwing, the witless wonder, will ever be able to foil it." He patted Bushroot on the shoulder, clearly trying to comfort him. "You worry too much, Reggie."

"That's because you don't worry enough…" The plant duck muttered under his breath.

"Taking risks is what profitable ventures are all about, my friend." Liquidator continued with his typical salesman jargon before giving him a pointed look. "You didn't seem so nervous when I first proposed the idea to you and you can't say it hasn't been worth it, can you?"

Try as he might, Bushroot couldn't argue that point as the ex-salesman gave him a wide, triumphant smirk. He just sighed as he remembered how he'd agreed to all this in the first place.

******

_It had been a normal, quiet afternoon in early December at Bushroot's glass paneled Greenhouse. He'd spent the morning making sure that everyone in his home had been given the right amount of plant food. Once every plant was content with their food supply, he moved on to the task of watering his vast garden. It wasn't any small task, but the botanist took extra good care of his plants, knowing how miserable it was for all of them during the cold, dark and snowy days of winter. _

_As he was watering and conversing with one of his ferns, he heard a soft dripping noise behind him. Puzzled, he whirled around to see the source of the leak, thinking that he'd just fixed up all the pipes a couple of days ago. Glancing at where he first heard the noise, he turned to his left when he heard another soft splash in the distance. The plant duck began moving in that direction, only to have another splashing noise resound behind him. _

_Thoroughly annoyed at this point, he shifted his gaze to the ceiling, trying to determine which pipes had begun leaking only to discover that they all seemed to be in perfect repair. As his blue eyes scanned the ceiling, he couldn't see any trace of a leak coming from any of the directions he'd heard the splashes from. _

_Scratching his head he went back towards his watering can, wondering if this was some product of him going stir crazy. He stopped abruptly as the can moved a little by itself. Rubbing his eyes at the sight, he stared at it for a moment before heaving a sigh and crossing his arms._

I need to get out more, _he thought with a firm nod_. Being cooped up inside all day and night is starting to make me see things.

_Just as he was about to grab for the watering can again, he jumped back in alarm as water started shooting out of it on its own, splashing him and every other plant around him in a mile radius. When he opened his eyes once more, he was greeted by the familiar form of his partner in crime, the Liquidator. The watery canine struck a pose quite similar to the little tea pot stance used for the old children's song before proudly announcing: _

_"Are you tired of the stress and strain of the ordinary garden watering can? Want the results of this meager product with less than half the work? Call the Liquidator for instant plant watering services!" _

_He ended this slogan with a short bow, which Bushroot raised his eyebrows to. The plant duck knew that he should be used to these surprise entrances by now, considering that the ex-salesman had been pulling them on him since they met on the hot summer day in August. One thing he was certain of was that these visits always meant that the dog was up to something and was going to "ask" for his help. _

So much for my quiet afternoon…_He thought sullenly as he shook some of the cold water off himself. _

_"What brings you here, Likky?" He asked with little enthusiasm._

_"Oh, you know me. My enterprising mind is always thinking of new possibilities for our next caper."_

_"But we just robbed that gold shipment from the shipyard three days ago," he protested, not wanting to go on a new crime spree quite so soon. "Not to mention that the terror that continually irritates in the night showed up again and took back half our earnings." _

_He hoped that this last bit would persuade the dog not to do anything hasty, but to his dismay this only seemed to bolster his companion's enthusiasm. _

_"My thoughts exactly! Our local lifeless loser of a crime fighter does nothing but drive us both up a wall, foil our brilliant schemes and decrease our profit margins."_

_Liquidator spoke this last sentence with exuberance rather than his normal exasperation, which made the plant duck tilt his head in confusion._

_"So…?" Bushroot queried with a hand gesture that signified he wanted the watery canine to get to the point. _

_"So," Liquidator parroted, "to achieve our goal financial earnings and then some, it follows that we have to cut out the middle man, right? We just have to eliminate Darkwing Duck from the proceedings and everything will go swimmingly, just as it should."_

_Bushroot's eyes widened, wondering if he'd understood his partner in crime correctly. "Y-you mean, kill him?" _

_"No, no, nothing so messy." The aqua dog waved his hand in a dismissive gesture and the green duck relaxed, breathing a small sigh of relief._

_"Then, how do you propose we 'eliminate' him?" _

_"I propose," he turned around and announced with a big flashy smile that he had often used when selling his merchandise, "that we move our business elsewhere. Namely, we go where he isn't!" _

_He put his hands on his hips proudly as he unleashed his idea, waiting for his companion's reaction and response._

"_Oh…" Bushroot muttered in surprise as he thought it over. "You know, that's not such a bad idea. But where would would we…?"_

_The plant duck's question was cut off as the liquid dog whipped out a flyer—from where he wasn't sure—placing it mere inches away from his face. It was an advertisement for the tropical island of Jacova, halfway across the world. _

"'_Take a break from the cold winter months and enjoy a wonderful vacation on the tropical beaches of Jacova.'" Bushroot read off the flyer. "'Tourists who have visited our island have described the location as "absolutely gorgeous" and the people as "welcoming, friendly and eager to make their visit to the island a memorable one. But don't take our word for it. Come see it for yourself!'"_

"_And we're going to do exactly that!" Liquidator announced triumphantly before the signature smirk made its way across his face. "These 'warm, friendly and eager' natives are the perfect saps and will easily succumb to Liquidator brand advertising and merchandising."_

"_You want to go halfway across the world to sell your merchandise?" Bushroot responded in an incredulous tone. "Um, I'm not doubting your abilities, but what makes you think that all these natives are going to stop buying their local products to purchase yours?" _

"_Aha! An excellent question. I'd expect nothing less from our local ingenious plant scientist." He placed an arm around Bushroot's shoulders as the flowery duck blushed at the flattery. "That is why Reginald Bushroot will be playing a major role in helping me persuade the competition and put my business at the top!" _

_He eyed the aqua dog curiously as he continued speaking._

"_Being the enterprising individual that I am, I couldn't help but notice that you'd been working on a pollen mixture that temporarily fogs up the customer's mind, isn't that correct?" _

"_Well, the pollen is supposed to relax any person that comes in contact with it. It will make them a lot more complacent as it affects their cognitive capabilities and thus, much easier to manipulate." He added, catching on to the dog's train of thought. _

"_Can it be mass produced?" Liquidator inquired, a grin spreading across his face._

"_With a little experimentation, I should be able to grow some flowers that could carry it without arousing any suspicion." The other mutant confirmed, a small smile appearing on his beak. _

"_A criminals' vacation, in a new location, with nice summery weather and plenty of unsuspecting saps to buy into our new franchise." The watery canine whipped out this new slogan with pride. "So, are you in, Reggie?" _

"_Well, I guess it sounds like it would work." He thought it over briefly, knowing that he could use some more seed money. "Alright, I'm in. Although, I'm not really sure that I'm suited to a tropical climate…" He added sheepishly, which caused the aqua dog to chortle. _

"_Never fear! The Liquidator can guarantee that you won't go thirsty as long as he's around. After all, I am an endless supplier of water, not to mention the master of all liquids!" _

"_And then there's my plants," Bushroot added. "They can't take care of themselves you know."_

"_Ah, but with a little tinkering with your pipes and a free supply of Liquidator brand water, you're plants will remain happily hydrated even in their master's absence. No worries necessary." _

_The plant duck smiled a bit at this, continuing to think about any other preparations for this new adventure._

"_Anything else?" The watery canine asked, breaking the silence._

"_Yes, actually." The mutant scientist turned to his companion with a full grin this time. "When are we leaving and how are we getting there?"_

"_Leave those problems in the capable hands of the Liquidator! They are guaranteed to be sorted out in the next couple days. Until then," he continued giving Bushroot a friendly slap on the back. "It is advisable that Reggie Bushroot should be ready to leave at any time with his new flora creation in tow." _

_Without waiting for a response, the Liquidator dropped into puddle form and disappeared from sight within seconds. Bushroot watched him go with a mixture of excitement and anxiety at the thought of their newest caper. _

_In fact, it hadn't taken long for Liquidator to return. It was three days later that the water dog arrived again, with tons of boxes filled with stolen goods._

"_Great timing," he said as the Liquidator made an unusual entrance via the front door, "I just perfected my formula with these hibiscus flowers. On my command, they spray a bit of scented pollen that can travel a long ways, snag an unsuspecting victim and automatically lure them back to the flower it came from. It also temporarily diffuses the victim's memory, so they won't have any idea how to retrace their steps or who took their money."_

"_Excellent work! With Reginald Bushroot as a partner in crime, you never get second best." _

_He gave Bushroot a friendly slap on the back and the plant mutant smiled at his flattering words. _

"_Now, for my end of the bargain," Liquidator gestured for him to follow, "you see all those boxes outside? Our local warehouse superstores just happened to have some overstock on popular summer items, so I took the liberty of taking some of them off their hands."_

"_You stole them?" The plant duck asked, knowing it was a stupid question. He received a nod for an answer and scratched his head in confusion. "How did you manage to get away with this much stuff and __**not**__ attract Darkwing's notice? I mean, I know he's a total moron, but still…"_

"_Ah, ah, ah, never doubt the time management and networking skills of the one and only Liquidator! It just so happened that I heard through the grape vine that Steelbeak and our favorite fiendish corporation has managed to disguise bombs as ornaments. He has gotten them into hundreds of homes all over St. Canard and is asking all the citizens with this ticking time bomb devices to hand over ten grand each if they want to save their homes. He's already sent some houses sky high as a warning, which has our local crime fighter scurrying all over the city to quell the chaos. Thus, he's quite oblivious to a few stolen goods from a warehouse at the moment."_

_Liquidator's smirk was so wide that Bushroot couldn't help but smile in return._

"_Alright, you win. I should know by now not to doubt your capabilities. I'm sure you've already handled our travel arrangements as well."_

"_You assume correctly, my good friend." The liquid canine replied with a bow. "I've made arrangements with the owner of _The Sea Swiper_ to change his route and hide our cargo for a nominal fee of ten thousand dollars every two weeks."_

_The plant mutant's bill comically fell open at the mention of the price tag._

"_Ten thousand dollars?! You call that a deal?" _

"'_A deal?'" The dog repeated slyly. "More like a one hundred percent steal! After all, I never said I was going to pay him money out of my own coffers."_

_Bushroot tilted his head slightly, confused about what he was getting at._

"_Can you still grow money trees, Reggie? Perhaps a portable one for travel purposes?"_

_The watery ex-salesman's smile grew slyer and the plant duck began following his lead as he caught on to the plan._

"_Of course. I could have one or two processed, potted and ready to go in two days." _

"_Then, we're right on track to leave for our profitable new venture in two days time. Meet me down at the docks five a.m. sharp for our loading time!"_

"_Sure," Bushroot said with a smile. "I'll see you then."_

_Two days later they loaded everything without a hitch, paid off their nominal fee and were on their way to start their new business. _

******

Bushroot broke out of his reminiscing with a shake of his head, still not willing to give up the argument yet.

"Okay, I admit that this has probably been one of the best, if not the best heist I've ever been involved in. But," he held up a leafy finger to stop the liquid dog from declaring victory, "wasn't the entire point of coming here for us to be able to commit crimes **without** Darkwing's interference? Now that he's here, doesn't that ruin our entire plan?"

"Hardly." Liquidator said calmly, but firmly. Seeing the pout on his partner in crime's bill, he sighed and decided to give a little. "Tell you what Reggie, I'll make you a deal. If it turns out that Darkwing does indeed figure out what we're doing and makes a nuisance of himself, then I'll agree to close up shop here and head back to St. Canard early, but only if we **both** agree that he's become too much of a problem for the two of us to handle. Are the terms clear?"

"Crystal." The botanist said happily as they shook on it.

"Excellent. Well, now that our deal is settled we should focus on fulfilling another. Our bloated boat master will want his extra bonus with his payment and that means Reginald Bushroot will have to go back to our makeshift warehouse and get some more of our favorite green money."

"You're not coming?" He asked, wilting a little at the prospect of being on his own now that his least favorite crime fighter was on the island.

"Marketing research advises that one of us should stay behind and keep an eye on the girl. But never fear, our warehouse is also home to many of our plant mutant's friendly flora, who are sure to be a big help if there's trouble."

"Yes, I guess you're right." Bushroot replied with a small smile on his beak. "Well, I'd better get this over with. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can come back, right?"

"Precisely." Liquidator said with satisfaction as he watched the other mutant leave. "See you later, Reggie."

******

"There!" Drake said triumphantly as he grabbed a carton of yogurt out of the cooler. "That's everything Gosalyn needs for a healthy breakfast. She may whine about it now, but I'm sure one day she'll thank me for taking an interest in her eating habits."

Launchpad was far less sure about that as he hastily grabbed another cinnamon roll with all intentions of passing it off to the little red-haired duckling under her father's nose. The two exited the hotel's continental breakfast line and just as they were about to leave, the pilot stopped as he saw someone he recognized standing in the far corner of the room.

"Hey, Drake, look over there!" He pointed to a duck lady with a black braid in a police uniform, who seemed to be in the process of talking to a distressed looking woman. "Isn't that the police officer we saw yesterday?"

Drake took a quick glance over in the direction he was pointing in and it was indeed the same woman he had seen yesterday speaking to her commanding officer.

"You're right, LP. Hmm…" He trailed off, putting a hand underneath his chin as he studied the officer trying to calm the animated other woman. "She's certainly riled up. I wonder if someone stole some of her possessions."

"Or maybe they disappeared like mine?" Launchpad suggested in a not so innocent manner. "Say, maybe we oughta go over there and ask what's happened—for purely informational reasons." He finished warily, seeing the look his friend was giving him.

"I'm sure the local authorities can handle whatever it is." Drake said, though without much conviction. "No crime fighting was the deal we made when I came here, remember?"

"Well," his sidekick rubbed the back of his head, clearly looking for an angle, "it wouldn't really be crime fighting if we just asked some questions. I mean, we could just get information for information's sake you know? It doesn't mean we have to **do** anything with it."

"Okay, LP, you win." Drake told him trying to sound exasperating so as to hide his own growing excitement at the prospect. "Let's go talk to her."

The pair walked in the police officer's direction before stopping a few feet away from her to give her some privacy with her current client. A few minutes later, the distraught woman had walked off while the police officer was still hastily scribbling something on her notepad. She looked up when she noticed the Drake and Launchpad coming towards her.

"Good morning gentlemen." She said courteously as she stashed her notebook into her front pocket. "Can I help you with something?"

"Well, actually we just came over here to ask you if everything was alright." Drake said casually. "The woman you were speaking with seemed quite upset and we were wondering if there was anything going on that we should know about."

"What we spoke about is confidential information," the police officer told them firmly. "What I can tell you is that it's nothing you need to be concerned about."

"By any chance," Launchpad cut in before Drake could say anything more, "did her things disappear last night?"

The police officer stared at him in surprise for a moment before her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"And how, may I ask, do you know that?"

"Because my things disappeared this morning as well." He replied simply.

"LP, we're not sure you're things disappeared." Drake said with a scowl. "They could have just been misplaced."

"We tore up the entire room this morning and we still couldn't find anything." Launchpad countered stubbornly. "I don't know where my stuff went, but it's not in the room and it's not like it could have just gotten up and walked away."

"Did you, by any chance, buy something yesterday that you can't remember when or where you bought it?" The police officer questioned, ending their little quarrel instantly.

"Yeah, that's exactly what happened!" Launchpad replied enthusiastically. "I went out yesterday to get myself some food and then before I knew it I was back in the hotel lobby with a bunch of junk in my arms and a much lighter wallet." He frowned about the last part before asking the question that had been on his mind since the conversation began. "Do you know something about this?"

"Only that cases like yours have been popping up all over our island and our police force has yet to catch the culprit." She added the last bit bitterly before smiling at them and taking out her notepad again. "I'm sorry I was so short with you two earlier. It's been very stressful around here lately with all the reports we're having to file, not to mention the complaints from the victims who want their money and possessions back."

"They're all saying you can't handle it, aren't they?" Drake asked sympathetically. He knew how hard it could be when you were trying your best to get to the bottom of a case and no one was giving you any credit for it.

"It wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't think they might be right." The woman said in a soft whisper. "I mean, we've never needed a big police force since our island has always had a low crime rate. Sure, we had our share of thefts, vandalism and even some murder cases, but they were always on a small scale. None of us have ever seen anything like what's going on now."

"Has this been going on for a while or is this new crime spree fairly recent?" Drake probed, hoping he wouldn't be rebuffed.

"It only started a couple of weeks ago, around the same time that a new vendor came into town."

A deep set frown spread across the police officer's face as Launchpad spoke up again.

"You think they're the ones behind it, don't you?"

"I do indeed," the officer admitted with passion. "After all, the wares that those two men are selling are the same ones that people keep ending up with after they forget where they've been or how they've spent their money. Unfortunately, that's not enough to bring them into custody, let alone convict them."

"Why not? If all these people are ending up with their merchandise after their money gets stolen then it has to be them, right?" Launchpad's words were only met with a sad smile from their informant.

"That's what I said to my superior officer, but without hard evidence we can't prove anything. We can't prove that they are the ones who are making the victims' lose their memories, nor do we know how they're doing it. Without any proof that the victims' were somehow coerced into purchasing their merchandise, we can't do anything."

"But what if you found the stolen goods that were taken from the victims?" Drake said, looking for a solution. "If you found them then you could prove the two are connected and that new vendor really is behind the crime spree."

"It's a good idea, but I'm afraid I already tried that. I got permission to search their warehouse where they were storing their merchandise, but I didn't find a single item that matched the description of the ones that had been stolen. I know they're hiding them somewhere, but I can't figure out where. I mean, it's like you said before, it's not like inanimate objects just get up and walk away, right?" She let out a heavy sigh as she continued. "And yet, as far as I can tell that's what's happening. People lose their memories, buy a bunch of random junk and then some of their possessions disappear. This entire event is so bizarre that it seems to be affecting everything on our island, even the fish. The fisherman have been complaining about how all the sea creatures have been changing their patterns, like something's bothering them, but I guess that's a whole other story. At least, I think it is."

Launchpad and Drake exchanged glances as the police officer looked at the ground in distress. They were used to these types of strange occurrences that the woman was describing back in St. Canard and normally the person behind it had some type of super power or were backed by a powerful organization.

"Could you describe what the vendors looked like for us? Maybe I could find them and ask a few questions." Drake pitched as casually as he could, trying not to let on that he was thinking of running an investigation of his own.

"They won't tell you anything, even if you did," she informed him with a snort, "but to answer you're question, I can't describe them for you. There are only two of them working that new franchise that I've met so far and they're always covered from head to toe in trench coats, hats, gloves and boots. So, I've never actually seen what they look like."

"They wear all that in this weather?" Launchpad asked incredulously, pulling on his collar. "How could anyone do that and not die of dehydration?"

"I couldn't tell you that. It isn't normal, that's for sure, but then the two of them don't seem entirely normal either. Anyway, I should probably be heading back to the station." She said before they could ask any more questions. "I'll need to get both of your names before I leave and a list of items stolen so I can add it to our ever growing case file."

Launchpad told them both of their names, which room they were staying in and the list of items that were taken from their room that morning. She scribbled the information down quickly and stuffed the notepad into her front pocket.

"Well, Mr. Mallard and Mr. McQuack it was nice making your acquaintance and I can assure you that we're doing everything we can to solve this case. If you're possessions are found, we'll notify you immediately. If you need anything else or remember something more about what happened to you, please call the number on this card and ask for Officer Jenny. Believe me, the more information we get, the better our chances are of solving this case."

Officer Jenny handed Launchpad her card before waving goodbye.

"I sincerely hope you two enjoy the rest of your stay. Take care!"

"You too!" Launchpad called as she walked away. The sidekick then turned to his friend who had his hand under his chin, clearly thinking over all the details they'd just heard about the case.

"So, Drake what do you think? Do you think this case requires a more experienced hand?"

"Well, it seems like the local authorities could use a little help, _but_," the shorter mallard raised a hand before his friend could get too excited, "Darkwing won't be able to help unless a certain bargain is suspended temporarily. Is that okay with you?"

"Perfectly fine." The pilot answered with confidence. "I wanted you to get a break from crime fighting, but I think these people could really use your help, so the deal's off."

"Alright!" Drake jumped up in excitement, almost spilling his plate of food. "Come on, LP, let's show these creeps the meaning of full cash back refund!"

Rushing back to the elevator, they hastily made their way back to their room so Drake could put on his Darkwing costume—which he had stealthily buried at the bottom of his suitcase to keep it away from the eyes of his sidekick. Pulling out his key card, he swiped it and pushed open the door to their room.

"Gosalyn, sweetie, you better hurry and eat your breakfast cause we got a new case to solve!" He said with incredible enthusiasm.

As he entered the main room, his good mood quickly evaporated as he realized that Gosalyn was nowhere in sight.

"Gosalyn?" He called again, twirling around to check the bathroom. Finding it empty, he started to panic.

"Gosalyn, this isn't funny!" He said in both anger and fear as he began checking the closets and underneath the beds in case she was hiding from him. When this turned up nothing, he kneeled on the floor and stared up at his sidekick with a face full of uncertainty.

"If she's not here then where could she be?" Drake asked quietly, not really expecting an answer.

Launchpad could only pat his friend's shoulder wishing he had the answer to that question.

******

Author's Note: Wow, I finally did it, I finally wrote a new chapter. Thanks to everyone who's waited patiently. I hope you enjoyed this update!


	5. Enemy Ploy

**Chapter 5: Enemy Ploy**

******

Drake remained sitting on the floor for another short moment before he got up and began frantically pacing back and forth. He spanned the length of his bed three different times, waving his hands about and talking to himself all the while.

"She's gone! She's run off again! Where did she go? Was it because I was too harsh to her? What if I never see her again?"

"Hey, come on DW! Calm down, would ya?"

Launchpad knew immediately that this had not been the correct thing to say because a split second later Drake had jumped up and clung to his shirt with both hands.

"'Calm down?'" He repeated in a strained voice, his eyes filled with worry. "My little girl is wandering around some strange island all by herself! She could be anywhere by now! What if she gets lost and she can't find her way back? Or worse, what if some whacko tries to kidnap her?"

"Then, she'll show 'em some of that spirit that she's got so much of and make 'em realize that she's more trouble than she's worth." Launchpad said firmly, meeting his friend's eyes. "Gos is a strong kid who knows how to get out of trouble. You know that as well as I do."

"Oh, I guess you're right, LP." The shorter mallard admitted with a sigh. He let go of his friend's shirt and landed back on the floor. "Still, I can't help worrying about her. We have to find out where she went as soon as possible!"

"This sounds like a job for Darkwing Duck. If anyone can find her, I know it's him." Launchpad ended with a wink.

"Good thinking," Drake replied with a weak smile. "At least I know where to find him."

Rummaging through his suitcase, he pulled out his purple fedora cap and matching purple suit with his turquoise turtle neck, cape and mask. He hopped into the bathroom for a quick change. When he came back out, he delivered a flourishing spin to show off his costume before sitting back down on the floor again to think over their situation.

"Now, if I were Gosalyn, where would I go?"

Silence passed between the pair before Launchpad snapped his fingers as an idea came to him.

"Hey, DW, remember what she said last night after I came back from trying to get some snacks?" Darkwing shook his head, so the pilot continued his train of thought trying to stir his friend's memory. "Ya know, after we pulled out that weird business card that didn't have any address or telephone number on it? She said she wanted to find 'em and give 'em a piece of her mind. Maybe she did just that!"

"Hmmm…well, it's possible." The crime fighter muttered, though he didn't sound entirely convinced. "You're not just saying that because you want to go back to the other case, are you?"

A hurt look appeared on his sidekick's face after this accusation.

"Of course not, DW! You know how much I care about Gos. I would never do something like that!"

"You're right, I'm sorry." Darkwing said quickly, ashamed that he had voiced such a thing. "I'm just really worried, that's all. I don't want to follow any false leads and waste time."

"I understand," Launchpad told him reassuringly, "really, I do, but I have to disagree with ya on this one. I don't think following my idea is gonna turn up blank."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Call it pilot's intuition."

The caped crime fighter rolled his eyes at this response, but his sidekick wasn't deterred.

"Come on, DW, it's better than nothing. I think I remember where I got the goods from last night and it isn't too far away from the hotel. Why don't we give it a shot? Even if it does turn up nothing, at least we'll know she didn't go there and can keep looking."

"Well, it's a start anyway." Darkwing admitted jumping to his feet. "Come on, LP, let's go back to their vendor's booth. I just hope we find Gosalyn before she gets into any trouble."

Without another word, the caped crime fighter raced out the door with his sidekick close behind.

******

While her father and his sidekick began their search for her, Gosalyn was still stuck aboard _The Sea Swiper_ struggling with the plant that held her. Liquidator was in the room with her and was in the process of counting out her earnings from the casino, much to her annoyance. Occasionally he would grace her with a smug smile and clank one of the coins down meaningfully, which only made her fight against her bonds even more. After a few more moments of this, she finally grew tired of wrestling with the plant and spat out the gag that was in her mouth.

"Now, listen here you sleazy slime ball! You better take your filthy hands off my money before I get loose or you'll be sorry!"

"The Liquidator suggests that the mouthy hostage remains quiet, lest she can actually act upon said threats." Liquidator snickered as she continued glaring at him from where she was bound by Bushroot's flower. "Otherwise everything she says will be stocked up to false advertising."

Gosalyn stuck out her tongue and decided that she wouldn't get anywhere with this approach. Wanting to get some more information from him for when she got out of her predicament and found her Dad, she came up with a casual question to get some conversation going.

"Why are you keeping all this stolen stuff in here anyway? Are you planning to resell it at half price or something?"

"Repackage old merchandise?" The liquid dog asked, sounding appalled at the very thought. "You've _got_ to be kidding. Any class in Crime 101 could tell you that selling stolen merchandise back into society is a one hundred percent fail proof way to arouse suspicion and get the police on your tail. No, every product in this room is being used in a new system that I call Liquidator Brand Return Protection."

When this announcement earned him nothing but a raised eyebrow, he pressed on with his usual enthusiasm.

"You see, our product line consists of items that most consumers already have and would only purchase if they had forgotten it. That's why we make sure each customer is given a potted plant to make sure that any repeat material that they may have comes back to us for immediate disposal. Without their original products, they will happily settle for ours and won't drop by for an unwanted refund."

"So, you're going to get rid of everything in this room? Even you couldn't find a place to dump all of this without someone taking notice."

"That's where you're wrong, my young critic." The liquid dog replied arrogantly, crossing his arms. "A truly enterprising individual can always find a compatible solution to all of his business problems. Any nitwit could tell you that dumping once valued merchandise at the local garbage disposal sites would only bring unwanted attention to our fine establishment. So, I thought, why not try the deep concealing powers of the ocean to cover up our dirty work? As the old saying goes, 'Out of sight, out of mind.'"

"You can't just throw that stuff into the ocean!" Gosalyn protested vehemently. "There are living things down there, you know, and you're ruining their homes!"

"Nine out of ten marine biologists suggest that the Liquidator will care about this when said sea creatures form some type of economic system he can personally benefit from."

"Why you!" The red haired duckling began thrashing around in her plant bonds, trying to kick her captor. "How can you be such a jerk?"

"The words of a very naïve consumer." He responded with a shake of his fluid head. "Listen, kid, all quarterly reports suggest that how you earn your money is irrelevant. The only thing that does matter is that you find a way to gain more net income than all of your competitors."

"Boy does that sound familiar." She muttered under her breath, thinking about her reasons for boarding this ship in the first place. Hadn't she also thought that since her father hadn't made any rules for how she earned her money, she could sneak on board a ship and try to win some at their casino games? She knew full well she was too young to gamble, but that hadn't stopped her because she had been too interested in getting some quick cash to care about whether or not what she was doing was ethical.

"This round of unwanted valuables is scheduled to be dumped out this afternoon in fact. The crew on this ship have been very amicable with our orders thanks to the ship owner's generous pay offs. In the meantime, our business will draw more customers and we'll be getting all the richer as our grand venture continues to grow. You know, kid, you might want to pay attention to what the great Liquidator is telling you. After all, making decisions like these is the only way to get ahead in life."

"More like the only way to land myself in a jail cell, which is where you're going to end up once Darkwing finds out about your 'brilliant' scheme." She blew a raspberry. "The day I listen to you is the day my brain was eaten by mutated ninja zombies."

"The Liquidator thinks that mocking your captor is a fine way of suggesting that you'd like to be tied up and tossed out with the rest of the garbage in this room."

The red haired duckling immediately shut her beak and a smug smile returned to the aqua dog's face.

"A true entrepreneur always knows how to get what he wants, whether it be a higher profit margin or some plain old peace and quiet. Therefore, I propose that a certain unsalvageable piece of work in this room remains completely silent until my partner in crime's return."

Hearing no smart reply, he turned back to counting his captive's coins, looking very pleased with the newfound earnings. Gosalyn sat on the floor of the boat, knowing that she had to get out of there as soon as she could. She couldn't just sit by and let what the pair of villains were doing slide. She had to find Darkwing and let him know what was happening. Sitting quietly and examining her surroundings closely, Gosalyn started wracking her brains to come up with some way that she could get out of this mess.

******

Launchpad took lead once they left the hotel as he tried to retrace his steps back to the place where he lost his memory. He walked up to the docks and stopped to think with Darkwing impatiently tapping his foot next to him all the while.

"Now, I'm pretty sure I came this way. I was looking at the stars and then…"

"And then?" The masked mallard repeated through gritted teeth, wishing his sidekick would hurry up.

"And then…um…well, I don't remember." The pilot said with a few nervous chuckles at the look his friend was bestowing upon him.

"LP." Darkwing glowered warningly. He wanted to find his daughter and he wasn't going to let a thing like his sidekick's lackluster memory get in his way. Just as he was about to give up and start looking around on his own, Launchpad snapped his fingers triumphantly.

"I've got it, DW, I remember!" He said excitedly. "I went that way!"

He pointed in the direction of the bazaar that was currently bustling with tourists, customers, and merchants of all kinds. Darkwing sighed in relief that they finally had a lead to follow.

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The pair rushed off toward the local marketplace, pushing their way through the crowd and keeping their eyes open for any child with red hair. Darkwing was still frantically looking back and forth trying to spot his daughter when Launchpad caught his shoulder.

"What is it? Do you see her?"

"Oh—uh, no." Launchpad told him, feeling guilty to have gotten his friend's hopes up. "I just wanted to tell you that I think **this** is where I got all that junk from yesterday."

Darkwing faced forward and saw an empty table covered with a blue tablecloth. There was a design on the side of the tablecloth that had several living waves enclosed in a circle. The shorter mallard briefly thought the logo looked familiar, but he pushed the idea aside when he realized that if this was the booth his sidekick was talking about, then Gosalyn wasn't here and they would have to keep looking.

"I guess Gos didn't come here to complain about them selling her all that junk." Darkwing muttered disconsolately. "Looks like this lead was a dead end."

Launchpad was about to unhappily comply with this assumption when he saw something that caught his eye.

"Maybe not, DW. Look over there!"

The masked mallard's eyes went to what his sidekick was pointing at and he saw a skinny man walking down a narrow alley away from the booth. He was covered from head to toe in a brown trench coat and hat, clothing that seemed extremely uncomfortable and inappropriate for today's hot weather.

"That guy's wearing the same clothes that Officer Jenny described this morning. He must be one of the vendor's who works at this booth!" Darkwing concluded pounding his right fist onto his left hand.

"What should we do, DW? Are we going to follow him?" The pilot questioned anxiously. Their target was moving farther and farther out of sight and if they were going to follow him, they needed to hurry. "He might know something about where Gosalyn is. After all, it could be that she **was** here and we just missed her."

The terror that flaps in the night wasn't as sure about this as his sidekick seemed to be and hesitated. If he did know something about Gosalyn, it would all be worth it, but if he didn't then it would end up being a colossal waste of time. Darkwing wanted to find his daughter, but the more he thought it over the more he knew he couldn't ignore this lead.

"Come on, LP!" Darkwing spoke quietly. "We got to catch up to him. Remember, we need to keep him in sight, but we've also got to be quiet or he'll realize he's being followed."

"Don't worry, DW, you can count on me!" Launchpad said with a thumbs up as they headed down the alley after their suspect.

The pair stayed as far behind the cloaked man as possible, making sure to just keep him in sight as he made turns in the alley before tip-toeing quickly behind him to catch up. They wove through the twisted alleyways for what seemed like ages to the crime fighter before the man in question finally stopped in front of a large warehouse.

"This must be the warehouse where they keep their wares." Darkwing whispered to Launchpad as they both hunkered down and watched the skinny man take out a key and fiddle with the locks on the giant doors.

"They wear their wares in the warehouse?" His sidekick repeated scratching his head, not having heard the other mallard clearly. "Well, that seems kinda weird, but to each their own, I guess."

Darkwing slapped his palm to his face at the unintentional Dr. Seuss impression, wondering if it would be worth the energy to explain what he meant to the other duck. His decision was made for him as the man in the brown coat opened the door slightly and slid inside and out of sight.

"Come on, LP, let's follow him."

Running up to the open door, the terror that flaps in the night leaned stealthily against the outside of the door and peered inside. It was a spacious warehouse full of wooden boxes of what he suspected were the goods this vendor sold at the market. The figure in question moved slowly between all the boxes and loose items scattered upon the floor until he disappeared from sight behind a tall stack of boxes.

Darkwing hastily grabbed a signature canister of smoke from inside his pocket and showed it to Launchpad who nodded in understanding. Without another word, they both snuck inside and looked for a place for the masked mallard to make his famed entrance. The pilot pointed to the tall stack of boxes that their suspect had disappeared behind and the crime fighter immediately ran over and climbed to the top without a single noise. Smiling smugly at his superior skill with making big entrances, he unleashed the gas canister and the familiar blue smoke enveloped his figure.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night!" His voice echoed magnificently off the high ceilings, an effect that he fervently wished he could repeat for all of his entrances. "I am the return policy that destroys your profit! I am Darkwing Duck!"

The figure in the brown coat turned around when he heard the gas canister release and jumped into the air with a frightened squeak. Looking back and forth frantically, he bolted in between stacks of boxes, trying to make his way back to the entrance and escape.

"Oh, no you don't!" Darkwing proclaimed loudly as his introduction came to a close. Leaping off the stack of boxes, he used his favorite Quack-Fu kick to topple over another set of wooden crates. They fell right in front of their suspect, who halted with a yelp, as Darkwing landed on top of the mess he'd created and pointed his gas gun warningly at his target.

"Alright, you merchant of menace, listen here! You may have managed to get the better of the police force, but Darkwing Duck is on to your little scheme…and nobody gets the better of Darkwing Duck!" He said this last part with a pompous flap of his cape. "So, why don't you save yourself some trouble and just confess right now before things get ugly."

"Can't see how things can get any uglier with you showing up in that ridiculous costume." The quivering figure muttered under his breath. This caused the masked mallard to ball his fists and fume.

"Hey, this costume is made of fine quality material _and_ the colors are in style right now. It makes a statement. That's more than I can say for your outfit! I'll have you know that brown on brown combinations can only say—um, that it doesn't really say anything." He finished pettily, folding his arms.

"Well, then," the thin man spoke again, before coughing and changing his voice to a deeper tone, "I mean, well, then, perhaps I have misjudged it. You seemed to have far superior knowledge when it comes to such matters then I do. Please, do a couple turns for me, so I can see the back and get the full effect of the cape."

Darkwing was preening from the praise he was given and immediately acquiesced to the request. He twirled around and stopped with his back facing the other figure.

"Like this?" He asked before realizing the suspect was trying to distract him and was now making a run for it. Cursing his ego for letting himself be tricked, he was about to pursue the man in the brown trench coat when the box he was standing was pushed forcefully upwards. Unbeknownst to Darkwing, Launchpad had been buried underneath the tumbling boxes when he'd kicked them down and had been struggling to get out ever since. The terror that flaps in the night only had a second to protest before he was launched into the air.

By a stroke of luck, the crime fighter's flight sent him on a collision course with the fleeing suspect. Trying to grab him in midair, Darkwing managed to grasp the back of the other's trench coat. Unfortunately, his momentum carried him past his target and instead of tackling the thin man, he only tore off his coat before he did a face plant and slid across the warehouse floor.

"Whoa, talk about being boxed in!" Launchpad said with a laugh as he finally got up. His attention turned back to the situation at hand and when he caught sight of their disrobed suspect, he gasped aloud and pointed. "DW, look!"

Darkwing raised his head sullenly, his beak still smarting from landing so hard on the floor. His pain was quickly forgotten as he laid eyes upon the green skin of a very familiar enemy.

"Bushroot!" He spoke in surprise, jumping to his feet. "What are you doing here—wait! I get it now!"

The terror that flaps in the night snapped his fingers triumphantly as his sidekick waited for him to explain himself.

"In both of the bundles of goods I've seen on this island, there was a small potted plant with all the other junk. Residents have been complaining that after they mysteriously bought their items from you that some of their possessions suddenly went missing. It was like they got up and walked away."

Darkwing was now talking animatedly in his detective mode, walking back and forth, waving his finger about like an instructor would. Bushroot rolled his eyes at the grandeur his nemesis was trying to draw for a simple explanation and continued to look for a way out of his predicament.

"Of course, normally having something get up and walk away on it's own would be completely impossible, **but** if there was a certain plant master around who could order his plants to do his dirty work for him, then the potted plants could filch any items they wanted to from their unsuspecting victims. Isn't that right, Bushroot?" He ended with arrogant certainty.

"Wow, Darkwing, I'm impressed," the plant mutant replied to the masked mallard who was already beaming, "thousands of miles away from St. Canard and you only manage to deduce part of our elaborate scheme. How do you do it?"

About to go on another angry tirade at the insult, he snapped his beak shut and relaxed as something the botanist said caught his attention.

"'_Our_ elaborate scheme,' huh?" Bushroot visibly flinched at the emphasis on the first word. "Enlighten me, Bushy old pal, who's the other perfidious perpetrator perfecting your pathetic plans?"

"Why, me and my plants, who else?" The mutant scientist replied hastily and waving his hands around in front of him, making it completely obvious that he was lying. The remark instantly seemed to perk the super villain up. "Speaking of which…"

Instantly, several of the hibiscus flowers around the room removed their roots from the dirt and began scurrying towards the crime fighter. He loaded a canister of weed killer and was about to fire when one of the plants wrapped its roots around his ankles, causing him to fall to the ground. The other flowers made short work of hog tying Darkwing with their roots as he wiggled about in their grasp.

"Hang on, DW, I'm comin'!'" Launchpad shouted as he saw the trouble his friend was in.

He didn't get far before a bunch of potted plants bounced their way over to him and blocked his path. They began bouncing up and down, hitting his feet, knees, and ramming him in the stomach. The sidekick danced about like crazy trying to get away from them and couldn't get anywhere near the fallen hero.

"Well, seeing as you're all tied up right now," Bushroot said with a sneer, "I guess I'll just have to continue my scheme without worrying about any more big mouthed clowns getting in the way."

Bushroot started walking toward the back of the warehouse to get the fake money he had come for when a buzzing noise behind him alerted him to trouble.

"Hey Bush Breath, didn't anybody ever tell you it's rude to leave a guest hanging?" Darkwing called to him as his buzz saw cufflinks made short work of the roots that had bound him.

"Y-You're the one who came in uninvited!" The plant duck stammered scooting backwards as Darkwing came closer, his cufflinks still whirring. He stopped abruptly and regained his composure with a sneaky grin on his beak. "But since you're so insistent upon staying, then you should at least stop and smell the flowers."

As he said this, the hibiscus flowers began spraying their pollen. The caped crime fighter caught a whiff of the sweet, fruity scent and stopped his advance as his concentration faltered. The room began to sway as his mind grew hazy and he put a hand to his forehead as he tried to remember where he was and what he was doing.

The sweet scent had just made its way over to Launchpad and he covered his nostrils immediately to block the affects of the pollen.

"DW!" The pilot called over frantically, realizing what was happening. "DW, cover your nose! That smell is what's been making people forget what they've been doing!"

Seeing his friend swaying where he stood, he knew that his warnings were in vain and he had to do something before it was too late. He caught one of the potted plants in his large hands as it jumped up to attack him again. Doing the only thing he could think of, he hurled the pot as fast as he could at the shorter mallard, hoping it would bring him to his senses. The pot smashed into the side of Darkwing's head, causing him to topple over sideways.

"Launchpad!" The masked mallard growled, holding his head in pain and glaring daggers at his sidekick. "Who's side are you on?!"

"Sorry, DW, but I couldn't think of another way to snap ya outta it. Now cover your nose before it's too late!"

"Thanks, LP, but I have a better idea."

Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a small pen and pressed the top of it. Instantly and quite anticlimactically, it turned into a purple pinwheel.

"A pinwheel? _That's_ your new secret weapon?" Bushroot laughed incredulously. "What else you got in there, Dipwing? Party balloons and a clown nose?"

Darkwing smirked as the plant mutant was eating his words a moment later as his mechanical pinwheel began producing a rush of wind that cleared the air of the enticing scent. The hero leaped forward and cut down two more hibiscus flowers with his buzz saw cufflinks that jumped into his path to protect their master. The rest of the flora began to shiver and they darted behind their master, away from the whirring ridges that would mean their deaths. Launchpad joined the crime fighter as he stared down his enemy and his cowering companions.

"Okay, Bushy, I'll give you two options. Either you can keep trying to get away and I inevitably catch you and arrest you or you could simply surrender and I can arrest you. So, what'll it be, option one or two?"

The plant manager was shaking like a leaf as the terror that flaps in the night took a step closer. He took a step back before he mentally told one of his plants to grab his trench coat and bring it to him. Launchpad tried to grab it before it reached its master, suspecting foul play, but he missed and fell to the ground for his effort. The green duck hastily picked up the discarded coat and smiled as he pulled out a small vial of formula.

"How about option three?" He said with an unusual confidence before opening the vial and pouring it on one of his flowers.

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, except that the flower began to spasm erratically. Then, it started growing larger and larger, until its petals almost reached the ceiling. Its roots were now as big as tree branches and it had grown a mouth with sharp jagged teeth which it was now showing off to the two disturbed mallards standing below it.

"Wow…"Launchpad trailed off nervously, tugging on his collar. "Talk about a rose with thorns."

"No matter!" Darkwing said loudly, trying to maintain his heroic composure in the face of the giant monster. "The bigger they are, the more there is to cut into tiny pieces!"

He raised his buzz saw cufflinks to whack them against one of the roots when the root moved on its own and wrapped itself around both of the saws and ripped them from the fabric. It crushed them both with a loud crack and released the pieces to the ground, rubbing its roots together to remove all the debris from them.

"Heh heh heh…I don't suppose anyone's ever told you how—erm, pretty you're petals are, have they?" The caped crusader asked with a big fake smile. His only reply was a low growl.

"I'll leave this one to you, babe." Bushroot cooed lovingly as he stroked one of the long roots. "Make sure you wring their necks real good, okay sweetheart?" He turned a mean spirited smirk on Darkwing and his sidekick as he walked backwards and waved. "Too bad Dorkwing, but don't worry! I'll make sure your pristine, fashionable costume has a new home on one of the scarecrows in my garden after I pry it off whatever's left of you. Have fun!"

The plant duck disappeared behind another stack of boxes to make his way to the back of the warehouse to get what he came for. Darkwing was about to run after him when a large root slammed down in front of him, bringing his attention back to the matter at hand. Launchpad quickly jumped over another root that was heading for his legs, but neither he nor the crime fighter could avoid the next attack, which sent them both barreling into another stack of boxes.

"Ugh…"The pilot wheezed as he caught his breath and pushed a heavy crate off himself. "What're we gonna do now, DW? Any ideas?"

"Yes, actually," Darkwing told him through gritted teeth as he pushed down the pain in his body from being smacked so hard. "We're gonna play a game of over and under."

"Huh, you know, DW, I like a new game as much as anyone, but now's really not the time…"

"Just watch me and follow my lead," he replied impatiently as he got to his feet and began jumping up and down to get the monster's attention. "Hey, petal head! Over here! Betcha can't catch me!"

He blew a raspberry and the flower growled viciously, showing all its teeth. It immediately sent one of its seven roots his direction and he sprinted into action. The purple clad duck ran under the root closest to him before jumping over the next as the one root pursued him, mimicking his every move.

Understanding the plan now, Launchpad got to his feet and began waving his arms about. "Hey, uh, flower face, you forget about someone?"

Turning its giant face in his direction, it gave a low growl and the sidekick gulped. Another root was launched in his direction and he started running as fast as he could in the opposite direction that the other duck had. He met Darkwing as they ran in the pattern and they slapped hands as they continued successfully implementing the masked mallard's plan. Finally both of them were back where they started and Darkwing jumped over the root that was chasing Launchpad, while he went under the root chasing his friend. Both of them halted in front of the giant flower as it stopped moving its roots in confusion, realizing that it had gotten tangled up.

"Aw, what's a matter, fang face," the shorter mallard asked in a mocking babyish tone. "Are you all tied up so you can't get us?"

The flower roared its displeasure at being made fun of and leaned down to bite the two smaller creatures before it. The pair of ducks were far ahead of its plan, however, and scurried away as fast as they could. As the main part of the hibiscus stretched down towards them it overbalanced and fell flat on its petals. With its roots tied up, all it could do was wiggle ineffectively on the hard floor before giving off a pathetic whining cry.

In an instant, Bushroot came back as he heard the pained cry of one of his flora. He gasped in horror at the sight before him and put down the small potted tree he had been carrying so he could search for another vial in his coat.

"Oh, Rosethorn, sweetie, what did those mean, ugly ducks do to you? Hang in there, baby, I got an antidote for you and you'll be good as new. Here!" He said, pulling out another small vial and pouring it on the flower. It shuddered a little bit before shrinking back down to its original size. The plant manager picked up the troubled hibiscus and cradled it in his arms, gently untangling the roots for it.

"Alright, fertilizer face, you've had your fun." Darkwing growled in an irked tone. He raised his gas gun loaded with weed killer at the floral villain. "Now it's time that you and your little fiendish flower get weed whacked!"

"Y-you don't want to do that!" Bushroot stammered hastily, taking a step back.

"Oh, and why would that be?"

"B-Because…" The botanist said before an evil thought came to him. "Because you wouldn't want anything to happen to your biggest fan, do you?"

"What are you babbling about now, Bush Lips?" Darkwing queried sternly, though dread was already beginning to fill his stomach.

"You know, the little red-haired brat that's always following you around. I found her snooping around in my business earlier this morning and had one of my plants tie her up. She's completely at my mercy."

"You're not fooling me for a minute, vegetable brain! You're lying!" The mallard spat, trying to hide the fact that his heart was now pounding in his chest.

"Maybe I am and maybe I'm not." The plant mutant said playfully. "Are you really willing to risk your little friend's life over a guess?"

Gritting his teeth in fury, he lowered his gas gun. A wide smile spread across his enemy's bill at the success of his ploy.

"Alright, you felonious flora, what do you want?"

"First, you're going to let me escape and you're not going to try to follow me. I'll have my flowers with me and if any one of them spots you tailing me, that'll be the end of your little friend. Also, any other meddling from you to mess up this crime scheme and I can also guarantee you that you won't be seeing the little girl again. If you do those two things, then you can have that red headed brat back in one piece. Clear?"

"Crystal." Darkwing's reply was short and scathing.

"Excellent." Bushroot said with a bounce in his step. He grabbed his money tree and a hoard of small flowers followed him as he headed towards the exit.

"You're not getting away with this!" Launchpad yelled at him, his fist balled in anger at the cowardice the villain had shown by hiding behind a little girl.

"You hero types really need to come up with some new lines." The green villain replied with boredom evident in his voice. "That one gets old after the twelfth time you hear it. See you two back in St. Canard!"

Bushroot rushed out the door of the warehouse and was gone. As promised, Darkwing didn't go after him, too worried about what would happen to his daughter if he did. The purple clad hero was seething as he stood there, hating to let the villain get away so easily and hating the situation Gosalyn had been placed in even more. He looked up as his sidekick placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What are we gonna do now, DW?" Launchpad asked gently.

"We're going to go back to the hotel for now." Darkwing said with a long sigh. "If we're going to catch Bushroot and get Gosalyn back unharmed, we're going to need a plan."

Launchpad nodded and they both exited the warehouse, both filled with worry for Gosalyn, still in Bushroot's clutches.

******

Author's Note: Alright, another new chapter! I'll admit this one was kind of hard for me to write. I think I'm okay with how it turned out, but it was longer than I expected and it didn't end quite the way I originally planned it. On a positive note though, I think this fic should be wrapping up in the next two chapters. Anyway, hope I you liked this newest installment!


	6. Making Waves

**Chapter Six: Making Waves**

The sound of pounding feet coming down the deserted hallway of the ship's storage facility just past eleven thirty in the morning caught Liquidator by surprise as he left his prisoner to see what the commotion was about. Seeing the brown hat and trench coat combination that mirrored his own, he automatically dropped his guard and smiled as his partner in crime's return.

"Ah, Reggie," he said cheerfully before a look of perplexity crossed his face over the state of the hyperventilating plant mutant. He looked like he had sprinted all the way back to the ship. Not only that, but he had brought a veritable army of his hibiscus plants with him as well as the small potted money tree.

"Ahem, now Reggie, I know we both agreed to give the ship owner a little bonus, but giving him the entire money tree is neither frugal nor a sound strategy if we wish to continue our venture here. Market research shows our heavy helping hand won't be pleased if he finds out the funds he's been given are fake." The water dog explained in a practical tone.

"D-Darkwing Duck…" Bushroot ignored the ad jargon as he finally managed to catch his breath. "He's here and he tracked me to our warehouse."

Gosalyn, who was still bound by one of Bushroot's plants, perked up at the mention of Darkwing. She sat up and leaned forward as far as she could, listening closely.

"I managed to get away by telling him we had the girl, but if I know anything about Darkwing it's that he doesn't give up easily."

"How much does he know?" Liquidator asked casually, not seeming as worried about this new threat to their scheme as the other villain.

"He knows that I'm here and that my flowers have been what are causing people to lose their memories and buy products from us. I don't think he's uncovered our full scheme yet, but I think it's only a matter of time before our cover's blown." Bushroot sighed sadly, crossing his arms. "It was fun while it lasted, but I think it's time we closed up shop and headed home."

"Now, now, not so fast! As the old saying goes, haste makes waste. No need to abandon a perfectly maintained ship before its sinking, after all."

"B-But you said that if Darkwing became too much of a problem we'd close up shop and go back to St. Canard." The botanist protested vehemently, not wanting to risk another run-in with the caped crime fighter.

"The exact wording of our agreement was that if he became too much of a problem for the **two **of us to handle, then we would back out while we were ahead. The powers of water have yet to be tested on terror that continually pesters and annoys wherever he goes. Besides, as far as dimwit duck is concerned, the great Liquidator is not even here. The element of surprise is still with us, my friend, and that counts for a lot when doing in the competition, no matter how persistent or annoying."

"Oh, I don't know…" Bushroot's tone was a mixture of whining and pleading. "You know that I don't like risks and Darkwing almost had my hide even with all my plants helping me."

"Is your faith in my business prowess and powers wavering?" The former salesman questioned with narrowed eyes and an even tone.

Bushroot flinched. "N-No, of course not!"

"Good." Liquidator said with his signature smile. He placed his hands on the plant duck's shoulders. "Don't worry Reggie. Even if he does somehow manage to figure out where we are, I'm sure that some of my subtle and sleek advertising can persuade him to turn tail and run."

Before Bushroot could respond, a horn was blown on deck, signaling that they would be sailing out of the port shortly. At about this time every day, the passengers were invited into the dining room for an extravagant lunch made by the expert chefs on board the _Sea Swiper_. It was also the time that two of Mr. Swiper's paid hands came down to help Liquidator and Bushroot dispose of their evidence.

"We can discuss plans later." Liquidator stated firmly as the ship began to move. "Right now, we have some unwanted merchandise to dispose of."

"Alright," the plant mutant reluctantly, before pointing at Gosalyn, "but what do we do with her?"

"We'll transfer her into the room with all our profits for the time being." The aqua dog pointed to the room directly across from the one she was currently stationed in. "Make sure you put the gag back on her before you lock the door again. Surveys suggest our perfectly executed scheme could be ruined if she's allowed to voice her discontent at remaining our leverage."

Bushroot nodded and telepathically asked one of his plants to retrieve the hidden room key. It was stowed away in the far corner of the room behind all the junk where only one of his flowers could get to it. Once it had been retrieved, the botanist walked into the room where Gosalyn was and immediately shoved the bandanna in her mouth before tying it tightly behind her head. After he was done tying it, he gripped her collar and removed her from the grasp of the plant that had been holding her captive. Gosalyn didn't make it easy for him to hold on to her, as she swung back and forth, aiming punches and kicks in his direction, hoping that one of them would land. The spirited duckling got lucky and one of the kicks connected with his right shin.

"Ouch! Hey, watch it, you little brat!" Bushroot whined, dropping the key onto the floor in surprise. Liquidator immediately picked it up for his partner in crime and opened the door for him. The now irritated plant mutant walked inside and had one of his hibiscus plants hold her captive again, only this time he told them to make the bonds extra tight. Once she was secured, Gosalyn found herself face to face with an angry looking Liquidator.

"Might I remind you of your position in your current position you have absolutely **no** bargaining room?" The watery canine had his lips drawn back in a snarl. "One more risky move like that and you'll be given a special one way trip to the bottom of the sea. That's my final offer."

Without another word the pair left the room, slamming the door behind them. Gosalyn breathed a small sigh of relief once they had departed and, though her predicament hadn't gotten any better, she was happy to hear that Darkwing had caught up with Bushroot. It was only a matter of time before he figured out what was going on and came after her. She had faith that he would be able to derail this entire scheme easily once he made it on board.

A few more moments passed when Gosalyn became aware of footsteps coming down the stairs. There was some shuffling going on outside in the hall and before long she could make out two voices talking. It wasn't Liquidator or Bushroot, so she figured it had to be two of the crew members coming down to help out on the ship owner's orders.

"I think ol' Arty's been sneaking beers from the bar again."

"Oh? Why's that? Don't tell me he got drunk and started dancing around with the mop singing 'Any Way You Want It' on the deck like he did the last time."

"No, though I'll admit that was one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time." The first voice let out a few chuckles. "No, this time he claims he saw a merwoman in the water this morning. He said she was the size of a small child with bright green scales, pink fins and that she had a conch shell around her neck. Everyone on deck told him it was probably just some oversized fish, but he keeps going on about it."

The second voice snorted. "You should have just told him to lay off the bottle."

Gosalyn heard the snickers fade away as they hauled away their load. The description they had given had struck a chord with her since it sounded awfully familiar.

_A merwoman with a conch shell…It couldn't be…_

After their encounter with Bushroot, Darkwing and Launchpad raced back to the hotel to consolidate the information they'd gathered so far and come up with a strategy to get Gosalyn back. On the way there, Darkwing kept his promise that he wouldn't follow the plant villain for his daughter's sake, but he had hoped to catch a glimpse of which direction the fleeing felon had gone as they went back to their room. Unfortunately, the crime fighter couldn't tell which way the villain went and arrived back at the hotel feeling very distraught. His sidekick closed the door after him as they arrived back in their third floor room. Darkwing sat hunched over on the edge of one of the beds with his hands pressed against either side of his face.

A long moment of silence passed before Launchpad asked the question that had been on his mind since they had arrived at their destination.

"So, what's the plan now, DW?"

"That's just it, LP," Darkwing replied with a heavy sigh, "I'm not sure. I mean, we know Bushroot's on the island and that he's holding Gosalyn captive, but we don't know where either of them is now."

The pilot saw the anxious look on his friend's face and knew that his stomach must be tying itself in knots right now worrying about his missing daughter. He placed a comforting hand on the hero's shoulder and voiced the only option he thought they had at the moment.

"You're right, DW, we don't know where either of them are, but worrying about that isn't going to solve anything. Let's go over what we do know. Maybe we can piece something together from there."

Darkwing straightened up at the suggestion and put a hand underneath his chin. Though he would much rather have just gone out the door and run frantically through the island, trying to pick up on clues on where Gosalyn was, he knew that what his sidekick said made sense. He had to come up with a good plan to catch Bushroot—for her sake and for all the people on the island.

"Well, so far we know that it was that flower of Bushroot's that's been causing people to temporarily lose their cognitive functions, which thus allowed them to be robbed blind and receive a bunch of useless items in return. When we tracked him to the warehouse, the loose items on the floor and all the items inside the crates matched the same set of useless items that he sells on the market."

Darkwing got up from the bed and started pacing back and forth, thinking aloud as he often did when he was gathering up the facts of the case.

"However, what we didn't find were any of the stolen belongings that have been reported missing after Bushroot's victims came home with their unwanted merchandise. None of the money he has to have been getting from this little scheme of his was there either. So that leaves this astute, astounding and all around amazing crime fighter to conclude…"

He passed for dramatic effect, which both drove Launchpad crazy and heightened his excitement as he waited for Darkwing to finish.

"'To conclude…'" Launchpad repeated encouragingly.

"…that Bushroot has some other hideout that he's using to store the missing items and his cold hard cash. Speaking of that cash, my other hypothesis is that he's using it to pay off someone to hide his stolen goods and store his money. He must have made some kind of great deal to get someone to work with him despite what he looks like. Either that, or his hired help doesn't actually know what he is."

"Gee, DW, I was thinkin'," the sidekick voiced hesitantly, scratching the back of his head, "doesn't this seem a little too, well, _elaborate_ a scheme for something Bushroot would come up with? He's more of an underhanded, sneaky kind of villain. This crime spree seems a little too aggressive for him."

Darkwing stopped pacing and weighed what his friend had just said. He knew from his previous dealings with the plant mutant that Launchpad's theories did hold some merit. Bushroot had always been content to sit back and let his fellow flora do his work and fighting for him. To do something that would take him so far away from the protection of his plants and would require him to be far more outgoing then he usually was did seem a bit out of character for him.

"Yes, I think you're on to something, LP." Darkwing stated slowly, which made the pilot smile. The terror that flaps in the night slammed his right fist onto his left hand as he thought of something. "That reminds me! I remember Bushroot specifically saying that the scheme was 'our elaborate scheme.' Somebody else has to be working with him to pull of this phony venture. The question now is who could it be?"

Something was tugging at the back of the masked mallard's mind as he pondered the answer. It was like there was an image he kept seeing in his head that he recognized from somewhere. A picture of a wave…

Suddenly it came to him and he walked over to the pile of junk Launchpad had been saddled with the day before. From the pile, he pulled out a container of bottled water and turned it around so he could see the label. The picture of a several living waves meshed together was the same one he had examined upon their arrival on the island. He had thought it looked vaguely familiar back then, but he hadn't been able to determine why. It finally dawned on him that he had seen this very same label during a very bad heat wave in St. Canard almost two years ago.

"That's it!" Darkwing spoke triumphantly holding the bottle in front of him so that his sidekick could see it. "This label belongs to the Sparkling Crystal Pure Flood Water Company. This is Liquidator's water! He's the one working with Bushroot on this caper. It fits so perfectly. Who else would open a new business halfway around the world just to swindle some unsuspecting natives and tourists?"

"You got me DW, but, ah, doesn't this just complicate matters? Bushroot can be a handful on his own—at least when he's actually being serious and not just running away—but with Liquidator helping him he becomes more confident in his abilities. Then there's Liquidator himself, who's always been an aggressive fighter. Not to mention that we're on an island surrounded by water, which will give him a pretty big advantage." The pilot sighed as he thought it over. "This isn't going to be easy."

"Since when is doing the right thing ever easy?" Darkwing countered pompously. "Defeating insurmountable odds and saving the day is what being a hero's all about. Everyone knows the good guys triumph in the end and I'm going to do just that."

"I don't want to burst your bubble or anything, Darkwing," Launchpad started, knowing that he was about to go into territory that could leave him walking on eggshells, "but even if you fight them there's still a chance that they'll use Gos as a bargaining chip."

Darkwing's good mood immediately fell flat at the reminder of his kidnapped daughter. "Knowing Liquidator, that's exactly what he would do." The crime fighter's voice had lost its boisterousness as he thought it over. "Not only that, but we still don't have any idea where the two of them are hiding and keeping Gosalyn. Until we figure that out, we can't make any plans that will ensure Gos's safety."

The terror that flaps in the night sat back down on the bed with his hands dangling listlessly between his knees. The pilot saw the sorry state his friend was in and said the first encouraging thing that came to mind.

"Well, at least things can't get any worse." Launchpad offered.

Darkwing only had time to bestow his companion with a short dubious look before shouts from outside distracted him. Both Darkwing and Launchpad went to the window in their hotel room that overlooked the beach to see what was happening. There was panic in the streets as all the beach goers scrambled into the city. The crime fighter pulled a pair of binoculars out of his cape to get a better idea of why everyone was so terrified. He zoomed in to see crabs and lobsters latched to people's clothing, whales splashing waves onto the land to both wreak havoc on the beach property and allow more sea creatures to safely reach land, while smaller octopi were led by one giant octopus in attempting to capture the boats at the docks.

Putting his binoculars away, Darkwing gave Launchpad the best encumbered look he could muster.

"You just had to say that, didn't you?"

"Now's not the time for jokes, DW," his sidekick reminded him, trying to ignore the irony of the situation, "what are we going to do?"

"That's simple, Launchpad." The masked mallard responded with his usual confidence. "Delving into my extensive knowledge of criminal behavior, I can tell you that there's only one person I know who can control sea life like this."

"You mean…?"

"Yes, the self-proclaimed protector of the seas, Neptunia."

"B-But I thought she was on our side. Why would she do this?"

"I don't know the answer to that one, Launchpad," Darkwing said as he headed towards the door, "but if we're lucky it'll have something to do with our current case. There's only one way to find out. We have to track her down and ask her ourselves."

"Uh, you sure that's a good idea, DW?" The pilot had to ask as he took another long look out the window at the chaos below.

"Do you have a better one?" Darkwing shot back petulantly. Seeing no answer forthcoming, he opened the door and waved his sidekick onward. "Come on! We're wasting time."

The crime fighter sprinted out the door with his sidekick following close behind him.

Neptunia, the hybrid fish woman from St. Canard and self-proclaimed guardian of the seas, was standing by the docks watching the chaos unfold as her orders were carried out. Late last week, she had received a visit from a school of tropical fish that had come to ask for her aid in reclaiming their home. For about the last month the sea life had been besieged with junk from the mainland. Their food supply had diminished and many of the reefs had become so covered in refuse that they were no longer usable. Thus, she had called together some of her fellow sea creatures and they had made the long swim to the island to help her kind in their time of need.

_I'll teach these pesky humans a thing or two about manners. They can't just throw away their garbage wherever they want and get away with it. _Neptunia gave an approving nod as she saw a horde of octopi successfully commandeer another boat. _I'm just glad that I'm halfway around the world on the island of Jacova instead of back in St. Canard where I'd have to deal with…_

The sound of a canister being released caught her attention and she spun around with her trident raised to see the familiar cloud of blue smoke obscuring the view behind her.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the hot butter that fries your lobster! I am Darkwing Duck!"

Neptunia was slack-jawed for a moment, staring at the purple clad crime fighter from St. Canard. She regained her composure quickly enough and shook her head before giving him her normal backhanded greeting.

"You came halfway around the world just to stop me? I see that you're still really in need of another hobby, honey."

"And I see you haven't learned your lesson from the last time you pulled this stunt." Darkwing snapped back.

"**I** haven't learned anything because **I'm** not the one who needs to be taught a lesson." She said icily. "My fellow sea creatures in this ocean are having the same problem with garbage being dumped on their homes that the ones in St. Canard did. Don't believe me? Take a look at his stuff. It was dumped out this afternoon when I was swimming about to see the extent of the damage."

Neptunia used her trident to push some of the items to the right of her closer to the crime fighter so that he could see them. The fish woman had pulled some of them out that afternoon to use as evidence of the human's guilt in polluting the waters around the island. Darkwing looked down at the items presented to him with little interest, but Launchpad noticed that a hat had gotten caught on one of the trident's spears. It was a visor with wings stitched into the brim.

"Hey!" Launchpad exclaimed joyfully as he grabbed the visor off the trident. "That's my visor! Boy, am I glad to see this ol' thing again."

The sidekick immediately wished he hadn't spoken up when the trident was suddenly pointed threateningly up at his face.

"You mean to tell me this stuff is _yours_?"

"Well, the visor technically is—whoa!" Launchpad jumped back as Neptunia took a swipe at him with her trident.

"Hey, one more swipe and you're smoked salmon, you hear me?" Darkwing said angrily, raising his gas gun. The pilot stepped in between the crime fighter and the fish woman as they continued to glare daggers at each other.

"Easy! Easy! Just gimme a chance to explain, will ya?"

Both Neptunia and Darkwing seemed to ease up on each other a bit, but before Launchpad could get a word in edgewise a new voice demanded their attention.

"Hold it right there!"

Standing behind them was none other than Officer Jenny, cocking her gun in Neptunia's direction. To say she looked angry was an understatement and her threatening tone advised the three of them not to move an inch lest they be on the wrong end of her gun.

"So you're the one who's ordered these sea creatures to attack our island. I won't let you terrorize our inhabitants and get away with it!"

"Well, if they hadn't polluted the waters around here with their garbage then I wouldn't have to 'terrorize' them at all."

Officer Jenny wasn't thrilled by the unrepentant answer she was given and fired a warning shot right in front of Neptunia.

"Your tone isn't winning you any of my sympathy." Jenny told the merwoman hotly. "Now as I see it we can either do this the easy way or the hard way." She reloaded her gun and adjusted her aim so that the shot would hit Neptunia dead center. "Which do you prefer?"

"Hey, there's really no need for that, is there?" Launchpad asked weakly, trying to diffuse the intense situation a bit.

"No, there's not, especially when Darkwing Duck is on the case!" The terror that flaps in the night flourished his cape a bit to show it off, before speaking to the officer in an offhand tone. "You're assistance in this matter isn't needed Officer Jenny. I can assure you that I have everything under control."

"And **who** might you be?" The police officer asked with an eyebrow raised. "You look more like you're in cahoots with the bad guys to me."

"What?" Darkwing was both shocked at the accusation and a bit miffed that she'd never heard of him. "I'll have you know that I am a famous super hero crime fighter from St. Canard and have fought for justice far more times than I can count."

"And I'll have you know that Jacova would never leave its law enforcement in the hands of a masked vigilante. I don't care what your supposed credentials are. You'll only make things worse for us by interfering in something that doesn't concern you."

"Now don't be so hard on him, honey." Neptunia cut in mildly. Darkwing smiled a little at the unexpected character vouch, but it was quickly replaced with a scowl as she went on. "Sure, he's a total moron and he messes things up more often than not, plus his ego's the size of a small planet, but he always does stand up for whatever just cause he's sticking up for at the moment."

"Neptunia," Darkwing practically seethed, "you're not helping."

"Ah, so you two do know each other." Jenny said triumphantly as she turned her gun on Darkwing. He raised his gas gun in return and prepared to make a quick escape if had to. "I knew you couldn't be trusted."

"Don't get me wrong, sweetheart." Neptunia brought her trident to the ready. "He and I may know each other, but we're not on the same side right now. I am on the side of my fellow sea creatures and I will dispense justice to anyone who threatens their livelihoods."

The three of them were stuck in a tense triangle, each one of them wondering who would make the first move. That's when Darkwing's faithful sidekick decided to intervene before the situation got out of control.

"Alright, everybody just cool it!" Launchpad walked into the center of the triangle with his hands up in supplication. He looked at each of them in turn before he continued speaking. "Truth is, we're all on the same side here, and if we start fighting each other the bad guys really will win."

Darkwing put his gas gun down first, feeling a bit sheepish that he had let his ego get the better of him again. Neptunia reluctantly put her trident down after deciding that she trusted Launchpad enough to hear him out. Officer Jenny put her gun down last, but only because she recognized the pilot who had spoken to her.

"You're the man I talked to this morning after your things went missing. Mr. McQuack, right?" Launchpad nodded and she continued. "Have you discovered something about the crime spree that's been happening on the island?"

"Darkwing and I have, yes." The sidekick admitted glancing over in the masked mallard's direction. "Like he said, Darkwing is from St. Canard and he's a crime fighter in the area. I'm his sidekick and I'm not braggin' when I say we've dealt with some pretty strange cases over there. So, when my stuff went missing yesterday I asked for his help in getting them back."

"While you're expertise is no doubt valuable," Jenny said, though her tone suggested otherwise, "I don't see how it could apply to our small island community. I know what kind of strange folk you deal with in the big city and we just don't have those kinds of people here."

"That's where I'll have to politely disagree with you, Officer." Darkwing told her confidently. "Today, Launchpad and I did a little investigating into the crime spree going on in Jacova and we made a startling discovery. The kinds of villains big cities like St. Canard have to deal with may be born there, but that doesn't mean they can't travel to places like this little island to commit crimes. And **that** is exactly what happened."

"You mean to tell me that some of the scum from St. Canard came all the way out here?" Neptunia asked skeptically.

"Indeed! Two of St. Canard's most notorious villains have travelled all the way here to take advantage of the native population, namely the mad scientist plant mutant Bushroot and the watery ex-salesman Liquidator."

"'Bushroot and Liquidator?' Jenny repeated puzzled. "How do you know they're the ones behind all this?"

"I know they're behind it for a couple of reasons." Darkwing cleared his throat and prepared to present the evidence for his claim.

He quickly explained how they had started their investigation by going back to where Launchpad had been given the horde of items and how his possessions had disappeared in the morning. The caped crusader told them everything about the role of the hibiscus flowers, the fight with Bushroot, the hostage situation and how he traced the water bottle back to Liquidator.

"That's when we heard the commotion outside, searched for Neptunia and you know the rest up to this point."

Jenny had listened with wide eyes during the conversation. Now she just shook her head in disbelief. "I just can't believe criminals with super powers exist."

"Trust me, honey, they do." Neptunia stated surely. "I've seen them myself. Darkwing is telling you the truth, as unlikely as that may seem."

"Alright, I believe you," Jenny conceded as Darkwing glared at Neptunia, "but I'll want to see this for myself when this is all over. The question now is how do we find them?"

"That's just the question we were stuck on." Launchpad admitted sadly. "We figure that the two of them have another hideout they're using, but we don't have a clue where it is."

"Or maybe we do…" Darkwing said with a snap of his fingers as he took Launchpad's visor in his hands. "Neptunia, you said that this stuff you found was dumped out this afternoon didn't you?"

"Yeah, it was. Some of it almost hit me in fact when it was dumped into the ocean."

"That's it!" Darkwing exclaimed triumphantly. "Those two conniving criminals are hiding on one of the boats in the harbor. They must have paid off one of the ship owners to keep quiet while they completed their dirty work. Now all we have to do is figure out which ship it is and we're set! Neptunia," he turned to her expectantly, "did you happen to see the name of the ship that jettisoned all that stuff into the sea?"

"Sorry, honey," she replied and this time sounded like she meant it, "I just figured that boat was one of the many that was participating in the pollution. I would have gone up there and thrown those two rotten criminals overboard myself if I had known about the reality of the situation."

Darkwing looked a bit disappointed at this, but he put a hand under his chin and continued to think.

"Say, Officer Jenny," Launchpad queried thinking of something, "I bet you deal with these ship owners an awful lot. Is there anyone in particular you can think of who'd be rotten enough to let these two hide aboard their boat?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, there is one person who I could think of who would do something this illegal for the right price. His name is Mr. Swiper and he owns the luxury cruise boat called _The Sea Swiper_." She wrinkled her beak in distaste. "He's a fat, oily rat who's been in trouble here more than once for disregarding the law. I wouldn't put it past him to hide these troublemakers as long as they gave him a good cut for it."

"Great! Now all we need to do is find that ship!" Darkwing was about to spring forward into action when Neptunia blocked his path.

"Easy there, hero. Let me help you out. My fellow sea creatures have taken over most of the ships around here anyway and if _The Sea Swiper_ is in the harbor, they'll have found it by now."

She took the conch shell around her neck and blew into it. The short melody got the attention of all of her minions whether they were on land or out in the sea. Those who could gather around her on the docks did so, while the others swam up as close as they could. She looked for one in particular, the large red octopus named Hal and once she spotted him, she beckoned him closer.

"I've got some new information about the situation here, Hal. Turns out that the culprits responsible for all this pollution are from St. Canard, not Jacova. They should be hiding on a boat called _The Sea Swiper._ It should be one of those big, luxury cruise liners. Did you or the rest of the octopi take over a ship that had that name or description?"

Hal turned his big eyes to all the other octopi swimming around him, but they all shook their heads in negative. The giant octopus raised two of his arms up to say he had no idea where it was.

"Huh, well at least we know the ship's not in the harbor." Neptunia said as she looked over at Darkwing. "That can only mean that it's currently out sailing somewhere close by."

"Yes, that does make sense." Jenny replied quickly. "_The Sea Swiper_ usually does a short voyage around the island when they serve lunch. They're probably still out there now."

"So, now all we have to do is catch up to them!" Darkwing rubbed his hands together in excitement.

"But, DW, how are we going to get to them if they're out sailing on the ocean?" Launchpad asked with his arms crossed. "I suppose I could go back and get the plane we flew over here with, but I think it would take too long. Plus, the two of them may have decided to fly the coop with all this commotion going on."

"I think I can help you there." Neptunia assured them, using her arm to pan the variety of sea creatures she had gathered around here. "After all, I came here to solve the pollution problems in the waters around Jacova. If these two are behind it, then I'm going to give them a piece of my mind. You can both travel with me."

Darkwing usually didn't like accepting help, but this time it was too good an offer to pass up.

"Thank you Neptunia." He said sincerely, swallowing his ego. "I owe you one."

"Help me pound these two crooks into the ground and you won't owe me anything." The merwoman told him with a smile.

It quickly faded as she turned back to Officer Jenny. She sounded sheepish as she spoke to the other woman. "Listen, honey, I'm sorry for all the trouble we've caused you and your island. I really am. Let me make it up to you by catching the people responsible."

"If bring these crooks to justice, then I'll call it even." Jenny told her with a half smile. "So, you'd better get going if you want to catch them."

"Alright, team, now that everything's been settled," Darkwing's smile was wide as he said his signature line. "Let's get dangerous!"

After all of their stolen goods had been dumped overboard, Bushroot went back to the bottom level of the boat to find his money tree. He had to make sure that Mr. Swiper got the bonus that the pair of them had promised to give him. Just as he was about to grab the money, the boat lurched violently and sent him falling to the ground. The plant duck got back on his feet, but was still having a hard time keeping his balance.

_We must have hit a patch of rough current._ He thought as he continued to sway. _Kind of odd, considering the waters around here have always been really calm. _That's when he remembered that his partner in crime was still on deck. _Maybe Liquidator's got something to do with this. He could be controlling the water to make big waves to make it harder for Darkwing to get to us. I'd better go see._

Bushroot rushed up the stairs as fast as he could as the boat continued to rock back and forth. As soon as he made it to the main deck, he spotted Liquidator standing by the railing near the staircase. The water dog was wearing the same brown trench coat and hat attire as Bushroot and seemed to be examining something happening behind the boat.

"You know, when hear the words, 'subtle and sleek advertising,' this isn't what I imagine." Bushroot commented as he joined Liquidator by the railing.

"This isn't the great Liquidator's doing." The ex-salesman informed him glibly.

"What? Well, if you're not making these waves, who is?"

"My market research tells me that a couple of whales are splashing their tail fins in the water and making our ride bumpier. Current buyer trends suggest that Darkwing Duck isn't the only one who followed us to Jacova. The sea creatures seemed to have taken on a sentient quality only found when supplied with the superior knowledge of their fish-woman leader Neptunia."

"Oh, you mean to tell me that snarky merwoman is here too?" Bushroot asked with a groan. "Terrific. Now, what do we do?"

"The Liquidator believes that it is time to follow his partner in crime's advice." The botanist stared at him curiously, wondering what he meant. "The deal we made about closing down shop if things got a bit too hectic around here for the two of us will now be fulfilled. Statistics show it's high time we get back to St. Canard with our loot in tow."

Bushroot was immensely relieved for a brief moment before his brow furrowed again.

"I agree with your plan, but how are we going to get out of here? The ship isn't supposed to head back to St. Canard for another couple of days."

"Reggie, my dear associate," there was a sly look in his eyes as Liquidator put a friendly arm around him, "your local Liquidator thinks it's time to end our current transaction with our bloated boat owner. With a bit of help from Reginald Bushroot's flowers and Liquidator brand water powers, we should be able to convince our not-so-lucky patrons that heading back to the beautiful burg of St. Canard is their best bet for survival."

"We're not going to hurt these people too badly, are we?" The green duck asked tentatively.

"Not to worry." Liquidator reassured with a chuckle, knowing how his fellow criminal got queasy about such matters. "Standard business methods suggest that we should work smarter and not harder. Scaring these indulgent saps into complacency and keeping them as hostages is shown to be both smarter and easier than forcibly subduing them."

"Plus there's more of a chance that Darkwing won't be able to attack us with a ship full of hostages, not to mention the little girl downstairs." Bushroot remarked with a grin, understanding the liquid dog's way of thinking quite well.

"Precisely!" Liquidator replied happily, giving the plant mutant a friendly slap on the back. "Now, my time management skills suggest that you should summon your flower friends up here, asap. We're beginning to draw attention."

Bushroot noticed that some of the patrons on the ship were beginning to file out from the lunch room. They were pointing at the pair of them in their trench coats, whispering behind their hands. He did as Liquidator asked just as the ship's owner came bustling towards them as fast as he could.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mr. Swiper demanded furiously. "I told you that you two could never appear on deck where my crew and customers could see you! Get below deck this instant or I'll void our agreement!"

"Unfortunately for you, our party has already terminated our business agreement." Liquidator's eyes narrowed dangerously. "The latest survival guide suggests that you keep your ugly mouth shut or we'll be happy to shut it for you."

"Why you!" The oily rat snarled. "Just who do you two think you are, giving me orders on my own boat?"

"Who are we?" Liquidator said with a sneaky smile. "Perhaps it's time we showed you…"

With a flourish, Liquidator threw off his coat and hat, revealing his watery form to the unsuspecting ship owner. Bushroot followed suit and soon his plant body was basking in the rays of the warm sun. They both smirked at Mr. Swiper, who was now quivering from fright and looked as though he was about to have a heart attack.

"M-M-M-Monsters!" He shrieked and fell to the ground in a disheveled heap.

"That's pretty rude, you know." The mutant scientist put in with a frown. "We're not 'monsters.' We're super villains."

"Care to show the ignorant masses the difference, Reggie, my good friend?" Liquidator said with a small bow.

"Gladly." Bushroot replied with a sneaky grin, knowing that all his plants had slithered into place.

The plant duck gave the telepathic communication to attack and the flowers extended their roots to trip up unsuspecting passengers and tie them down. Some of the passengers managed to dodge some of the creeping vines, but Liquidator sent a wave crashing on deck that slammed into them. They water swept them to the middle of the deck where they were too disoriented to struggle against the plants roots tying them up.

"P-Please—w-wait—maybe we can come to an understanding." The fat rat ship owner pleaded with them. He didn't get to whimper long before one of Liquidator's wave rammed into him and sent him toward Bushroot's plants.

"Understanding has no place in the hard bottom line of the business world." Liquidator replied coldly. "When you are no longer useful, you're taken off the market. Simple as that."

When the boat owner had been tied up and placed with the rest of the captive patrons, Liquidator smiled at Bushroot and they high-fived each other for a job well done.

"Now, let's see if we can _persuade_ the captain to take a new route." Liquidator said in his normal boisterous voice.

"Oh, I'm sure we can find a way to get him to listen to us."

The pair of villains laughed at their success as they went to the helm to surprise the captain.

Darkwing, Launchpad and Neptunia had not been out on the water long before they spotted the ship they were looking for. When they were within range of the ship, Darkwing called them all to a halt. Hal, who was carrying Neptunia in one of his tentacles, stared at him curiously, while his master gave the order for the two minke whales that the crime fighter and his sidekick were riding on to stop.

"What's the matter, DW?" Launchpad asked when he noticed Darkwing seemed a little worried.

The terror that flaps in the night turned to Neptunia to fully explain himself. "Remember on the docks when I told you that Liquidator and Bushroot took a hostage for themselves to use against me?"

"It's Gosalyn, isn't it?" Neptunia questioned sagely.

Darkwing blinked in surprise. "How did you—?"

"She's always hanging around you and I figured when she wasn't with you when we met that something must have happened to her. I have enough experience with you two to know that she's a little fireball and gets in a lot of trouble because of it. She's a really good kid though. I'd hate to see anything bad happen to her."

"That's something we can both agree on." The purple clad duck said anxiously. "It's also why I stopped us. We need to discuss a strategy before we go onboard the ship. If the two of them really have Gosalyn hostage, then they'll use her against me. I won't be able to fight them if it puts her in harm's way."

"Gee, maybe two of us should distract the villains, while one of us searches for Gosalyn. " Launchpad suggested tentatively.

"Yes, that's a good idea." Darkwing said with a smile. "Once Gosalyn's free, the three of us can meet back up and vanquish the villains for good."

"I should be the one to look for Gosalyn." Neptunia volunteered immediately. "I can take some of my crustacean friends on board with me and we'll scour the ship in no time flat. We'll get her free and be back to meet you before the bad guys know what hit 'em."

"Okay, I'm counting on you." Darkwing told her after a moment of thinking over her idea and finding no flaws in it.

Terrified shouts and cries coming from direction of _The Sea Swiper_ caught their attention and they all turned their alarmed gazes at the boat. Water seemed to be moving on its own and making its way onto the deck of the ship.

"Well, whatever we're going to do, we've got to do it now!" The pilot spoke urgently as the cries from the ship continued.

"Let's go!" Darkwing cried and the three sea creatures beneath them began swimming at a fast pace.

The trio reached the side of _The Sea Swiper_ in no time and Neptunia went underwater momentarily to call upon some help from the crabs and lobsters down below. Once they had surfaced with her, she had Hal help her and her friends reach the deck of the ship with one of his long tentacles. Making sure the coast was clear, the merwoman hopped onto the deck with her crab and lobster friends in tow.

"Alright, listen up." She spoke quietly. "I need some of you to stay on deck and search for a little duckling girl with bright red hair and a purple jersey. The rest of you are to follow me and explore the ship. If you find her, free her and bring her to me. Understand?"

All of them nodded and Neptunia went below deck without another word to start her search.

Once the fish woman was out of sight, Darkwing and Launchpad had Hal help them get onboard the vessel. They took a quick look around to see if they could spot the two villains with no luck. The sidekick did end up seeing something that caught his eye and he immediately pointed in the direction of the trouble.

"DW look over there!"

The crime fighter quickly spun around and saw the passengers of the ship bound by Bushroot's flowers. They were frightened and a bit disheveled, but otherwise they seemed okay. Darkwing was about to go over and help get them untied when he spotted Liquidator and Bushroot coming their direction.

"There they are, LP!" He whispered as he pulled out a canister of blue smoke. "Remember, we got to distract them long enough for Neptunia to free Gos."

"Got it, DW."

Without another word, Darkwing released the valve on the canister to draw attention to himself and give his usual entrance.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the seasickness that ruins your cruise! I am Darkwing Duck!"

"This unwanted visit is brought to you by St. Canard's most annoying crime fighter, who should know to keep his big bill out of other people's business." Liquidator said with an eye roll.

"Well, when your business involves crime it becomes my business to stop you." Darkwing retorted before childishly adding, "And for the record, my bill is not big."

"That would only be true if your bill was as big as your brain," Bushroot sneered at the pair of familiar do-gooders, "which seems to be non-existent. You must have forgotten about what would I said would happen to that little friend of yours if you tried to stop us. Except now we have even more hostages we can use against you if necessary."

"You wouldn't dare!" Darkwing hissed, raising his gas gun.

"Five out of five criminal record files state that we would." Liquidator stated confidently with his hands on his hips. "The real question is if you have the nerve to try to stop us knowing what's at stake."

Darkwing and Launchpad stood there frozen for a moment, eyes locked on the two villains. Finally, with a heavy sigh, Darkwing lowered his gas gun.

"I didn't think so." The ex-salesman said triumphantly as he turned to his partner in crime. "Tie them up."

Bushroot obliged him quickly and Darkwing and Launchpad soon found themselves bound by the roots of the hibiscus flowers.

"What are we going to do with them?" The plant duck asked, though he already had a good idea.

"Getting rid of problems with the least amount of effort is what business is all about." Liquidator explained with an evil grin. "The simplest solution to this problem is to throw them both overboard."

Darkwing fell to the ground as the flowers tightened their bonds around his legs. He could only hope that Neptunia would find Gosalyn in time.

Gosalyn had been hearing commotion coming from upstairs for the past half an hour and was dying to know what was going on. She struggled with her bonds for what seemed like the millionth time. Just as the spirited red head was about to give up again, she heard the unexpected sound of the door unlocking. Expecting to see the faces of the two super villains, Gosalyn was elated when instead the fish woman Neptunia appeared from the doorway.

"Hey, kiddo, you okay?" She queried as some of her crab friends rushed past her. They made short work of her bonds and then continued to shred the entire flower until it was completely destroyed. The spirited duckling untied the gag around her head and tossed it aside.

"I'm great now!" Gosalyn spoke with feeling as she bounced up and stretched her sore legs. "Thank you so much—but what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help Darkwing and Launchpad teach those two rotten villains upstairs a couple of manners." Neptunia told her as she slammed the butt of her trident onto the floor. "Speaking of which, I need to get back on the main deck and tell Darkwing you're fine. Otherwise, he'll be at the mercy of those two creeps. Come on!"

Without another word, Gosalyn followed Neptunia back up the steps with her sea creatures in tow, ready to give her captors a piece of her mind.

Author's Note: Wow, that chapter ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be. I wanted to try and finish the story with this chapter, but it was long enough already without adding a big battle scene. I hope you enjoyed this addition to the story. The next chapter should wrap things up for good. Oh and FYI, "Any Way You Want It" is the property of the band Journey and not me. Thanks for reading!


	7. Battle at Sea

**Battle at Sea**

* * *

Darkwing wriggled helplessly on the ground by Bushroot's feet, trapped in his vine bonds that the hibiscus flower had tied him in. Beside him was his faithful sidekick Launchpad, who was in no better position than he was. The burly pilot had been bound just as the crime fighter had been and was lying in the wet puddle that made up Liquidator's feet. Both villains were now gloating over the capture—and upcoming disposal—of St. Canard's masked mallard and his sidekick. Liquidator was grinning from ear to ear as he looked over at Bushroot, who was eyeing the watery microphone forming in his hand with curiosity.

"Well, as long as we have a _captive_ audience," Liquidator said with an evil glee as he panned his hand out over the ship full of hostages, "the Liquidator may as well add a little flash and splash to our latest disposal run."

Bushroot just shook his head a little bit as his boisterous partner in crime stole the spotlight.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to this once-in-a-lifetime on deck show!" He stepped to the side to reveal the bound Darkwing and Launchpad. "Today and today only, we're presenting you with the death of not just one, but _two_ annoying do-gooders. These pesky pair of pathetic pretend heroes have flown in all the way from the beautiful burg of St. Canard just to participate our specialty show. Wasn't that nice of them?"

Darkwing opened his beak to interrupt Liquidator's performance, but the watery dog had been expecting him to do so and splashed him with a cold dose of water that made the crime fighter cough and sputter. Satisfied, the ex-salesman turned to Bushroot to carry out the main event.

"And now, for our feature presentation, my faithful assistant Reginald Bushroot, master of the plant world, shall dispose of our unwanted company. Take it away, Reggie!"

The mutant scientist was a little uncomfortable to be the center of attention, but he did as he was told. His flowers lifted Darkwing up first and held him just above the railing. Liquidator glided up to him with his watery microphone, sticking it right by his beak as he struggled to get free.

"The Liquidator wants to know if you have any last words?"

"You'll never get away with this, you conniving criminals!" Darkwing shouted as he continued to wriggle in his bonds. "Darkwing Duck will never be dispatched so easily and—WAAAHH!"

Tired of listening to the caped crusader's monologue, Bushroot had ordered his plants to throw him overboard. The liquid dog graced the plant duck with an approving smile before watching their least favorite crime fighter fall to his watery grave. The two of them could hear audible gasps in the background and a child's voice yelling, "No!", when Darkwing disappeared over the railing. When he hit the water with a loud splash and disappeared into the dark depths below, Liquidator put the microphone back to his lips to continue his routine.

"Seven out of ten eulogy writers suggest that a brief statement is always preferred over a long speech, particularly one filled with unoriginal cliches."

"DW!" Launchpad shouted in fear after seeing his friend thrown over the railing. The only response he got was not from the hero, but from the villain who was miffed at having been interrupted.

"Files containing villain profiles suggest that interrupting the Liquidator in the middle of a routine is a one hundred percent **bad** idea." Liquidator pronounced with his hands on his hips. "As for your fallen comrade, do not trouble yourself with worrying. You are guaranteed to be joining him shortly."

As he said this, Bushroot's plants lifted the captive pilot in the air and leaned him up against the railing. Launchpad visibly gulped and began struggling with the vines that held him.

"Okay, moving on to Act Two!" The watery dog announced as he turned his attention back to his audience. "Does anyone out there have a guess as to what this next act will be featuring?"

He put his wet microphone out in front of him to taunt his helpless audience expecting no answer to come—thus he was more than a little surprised when a trident whipped out and slashed his microphone in half. Before the ex-salesman could respond to what had occurred he heard a cry of pain from Bushroot and whirled around to see what had happened. That was when he realized that their little red-haired captive had been turned lose and had taken her revenge on one of her captors by giving him a hard kick in the back of his right leg. The move caused the plant mutant to lose his concentration and the hibiscus flowers holding Launchpad by the railing dropped him back down to the deck of the ship. A deep, loud note startled him even more and he turned around to see the fish mutant Neptunia, who had just finished blowing into her conch shell and was glaring at him with her strong black eyes.

"I'll tell ya what you're next act will be featuring, you pile of sea slime. The two of you getting a complimentary one way ticket back to a St. Canard prison for terrorizing these poor folks and polluting my ocean with your garbage!"

Liquidator growled at the his fishy opponent for taking away his spotlight and turned his left arm into a scythe. The wet canine took a few swipes at Neptunia to chase her away and give Bushroot a chance to regroup with him. The green duck saw the opening and hastily raced over to his partner in crime's side and took refuge behind him.

With the villains distracted, Gosalyn ran over to Launchpad and started pulling the vines off him as fast as she could. When she was nearly done untying the large mallard, she looked up and saw that humongous octopus tentacles were creeping over the railings onto the deck. One of them uncurled itself and dropped a soaking wet bundle of purple clothes on to the ship. The tentacle got underneath the green vine bonds that were woven around the pile and tore them off. Gosalyn immediately knew who it was and relief filled her heart when she heard the sounds of coughing and sputtering.

"Darkwing! You're okay!"

Darkwing stirred at the sound of his daughter's voice and forced himself to sit up as he continued to catch his breath. Gosalyn ran over to him and gave him a big hug. The crime fighter smiled warmly at his daughter and returned the hug with a tight one of his own.

"I'm just as glad to see that you're safe and sound as you are to see me, kiddo." Darkwing whispered softly in her ear as they continued to hold each other. "You have no idea how worried I've been since you disappeared."

"I'm sorry, Da—uh, Darkwing." She said sincerely as she let go, catching her slip just in time. He ruffled her hair affectionately.

"It's alright, Gos. Just don't run off and scare me like that again, okay?" His spirited daughter nodded in agreement, though in her head she thought that it wasn't **all** her fault for what happened. Satisfied with Gosalyn's reaction, Darkwing looked over in his sidekick's direction and saw him push the last of the vines off of him.

"Are you okay, LP?" The purple-clad crime fighter inquired with concern as Launchpad made it to his feet.

"Heh, heh, not ta worry, DW. I'm right as rain." Launchpad flexed his large muscles to prove his point and Darkwing smiled, impressed by Launchpad's infinitely positive attitude. Neptunia's raspy voice brought them back to the situation as she hit the butt of her trident on the deck with impatience.

"If you three are all done with your touching reunion, there are a pair of villains standing in front of me that sorely need to get what's coming to them."

The snappy remark reminded Darkwing of his mission of bringing the two crooks to justice. He saw that Neptunia had not only freed Gosalyn, but that she had used her crab and lobster helpers to cut the rest of the captives on board the ship loose. Grinning at the smart maneuver by his ally, he turned to his daughter and started giving her an order that he knew she wasn't going to take well.

"Gosalyn, I need you to take the rest of the hostages and lead them downstairs."

"Oh, no way, Jose!" She replied petulantly, just as he predicted she would. "I'm not going to run off and hide, while you guys fight off the bad guys. I won't get in the way, I promise."

"Gosalyn, this isn't a debate." Darkwing responded sternly before softening his tone a bit. "I'm not trying to belittle you. I know from experience just how brave you can be. That's why I need you to do this for me. I need some assurance that if something goes wrong up here that there's someone brave down there who can protect and rally these innocent people if it comes to that. Can you do that for me, Gos?"

Though she was still disappointed that she wouldn't be able to watch the action on deck and lend a hand, she also knew she couldn't refuse her father this request. Gosalyn closed her eyes in acquiescence and let out a long drawn-out sigh.

"Okay, Darkwing, if you really need me to go, I'll go." She said, letting a little of her disappointment show in her voice. As she ran towards the bewildered passengers of _The Sea Swiper_, she lowered her voice and muttered under her breath, "For now anyway..."

Darkwing watched as she quickly got everyone on their feet and ushered them below deck When the spirited red-haired duckling finally disappeared below deck herself, the caped crusader strode forward until he was even with Neptunia. Clearing his throat so that his voice was at his best, he pointed at Liquidator and Bushroot, with the former staring him down with narrowed eyes and the later cowering behind the watery being.

"Okay you two vacationing villains, you've had your fun! Now it's time for you to take an express trip back home to St. Canard prison where you both belong. I won't allow you to terrorize the innocent people of Jacova any longer or my name isn't Darkwing Duck!"

Launchpad nodded in agreement with Darkwing's words, raised his arms and balled his hands into fists to show he was ready for a fight. Neptunia pointed her trident at the two villains as she waited for the first move to be made. Bushroot continued to take refuge behind the watery canine, pushing closer to the others back. Liquidator's hollow blue eyes panned the three of them before he smirked and spouted his typical salesman jargon.

"Feeling overly eager to deal out judgment? Tired of having to attempt to save the day over and over again with no end in sight? Then perhaps it was time you unwound by stopping and smelling the flowers."

As he ended his pitch, Liquidator looked over his shoulder at his partner in crime and gave him a wink. The plant duck nodded in understanding and telepathically commanded his flowers to begin spraying pollen at their enemies. Darkwing and Launchpad were prepared for the tactic and both of them covered their beaks and moved away from the cloud of pollen that had engulfed the three heroes. Neptunia, however, was not as lucky and soon found that her thoughts were becoming unclear. She swayed a little where she stood and her eyes went out of focus. Seeing the danger, the purple-clad crime fighter shouted a warning to the merwoman.

"Neptunia! Get away from the pollen!" Darkwing began digging in his cape, trying to find the pinwheel fan that had gotten rid of the sweet scent earlier. "The two of them have been using it to make the people here do things against their will."

She suddenly shook her head and stabilized, which made both the masked mallard and his sidekick breathe a sigh of relief. The fish woman raised her conch shell and a short melody resounded on the air. A moment later the crabs and lobsters she had brought on board the ship with her appeared. They were moving towards the two villains and Darkwing loaded some cement pellets into his gas gun to join them in the fight.

"Alright, Neptunia, use your minions to chop that villainous vegetable down to size. I'll—hey!" The crabs and lobsters had scuttled right past the bad guys and were now latching on to the crime fighter and his sidekick. "What do you think you're—ouch!"

"Heh, heh, nice crabby!" Launchpad spoke hesitantly with both his hands raised in treaty. The crabs were circling him and their claws were snapping at him as they approached. "Um, would it make any difference if I promised never to eat a crab cake again?"

Bushroot and Liquidator chuckled in amusement as they watched their successful ploy in action. The ex-salesman decided to add his own powers to the mix and summoned waves to start coming up over the railing. The move caught Darkwing and Launchpad by surprise as the pair of them were hit by the impact of the water and forced to the ground. Coughing and sputtering, they quickly found themselves under assault by the crustaceans again and tried to roll away from the pinching claws that were now coming at them from all angles.

"Comic book heroes everywhere agree that Darkwing Duck and his faithful sidekick are all washed up." Liquidator announced as he continued to watch the spectacle in front of him. "Critics agree that its time to send this tired act overboard with the rest of the garbage."

Waiting for another wave to come on to the deck, both the hero and his sidekick were surprised when some of the puddles on deck turned into giant watery hands. The hands launched themselves towards the prone Darkwing and Launchpad, who both rolled out of the way to avoid being caught. The purple-clad crime fighter came to a stop when he hit a a large bucket and the impact caused a mop to fall on top of him. Throwing the cleaning apparatus off him in a huff, he looked at the bucket with renewed interest. Glancing at Neptunia, who was still in a trance-like state, he picked up the bucket and ran towards one of the watery hands. It tried to clench him in its vice-grip, but Darkwing deftly dodged to the side. In the same movement, he swung the bucket and was rewarded with a full pail of water. The hand collapsed back into a puddle and the masked mallard dashed towards his dazed comrade.

"H-Hey! Don't do that!" Bushroot took a step back as he realized what Darkwing's plan was.

Darkwing grinned at the weak protest and dumped the bucket of water all over the fish woman. She sputtered indignantly as the pollen washed off of her, allowing her to regain her senses. He smiled triumphantly even as Neptunia glared daggers at him for the unwarranted drenching.

"What was that for, you dimwit?" She spoke in her typical demanding tone.

Placing the bucket on the ground, he was about to explain himself when a lobster jumped up and attached itself to his bill. Confused by her minions actions, she realized that the sea creatures were attacking the wrong people. It then dawned on her that the sweet scent from the plants she had taken in must have something to do with this.

"Neptunia, please do something about these confounded crustaceans!" Darkwing pleaded in a muffled voice as he tried to pry the lobster off his bill.

Putting her conch shell to her lips again, she blew one long fierce note to signal her forces to stop what they were doing. They obeyed her immediately and detached themselves from the two ducks.

"Sorry about that, honey." The merwoman said looking a bit embarrassed. "I should have been more careful."

"Don't worry about it, Neptunia." The caped crusader reassured her before a smug look went across his face. "Actually, you can thank Liquidator over there for lending me a _hand_, so to speak."

Liquidator let a bit of annoyance show on his fluid features, which was quickly replaced by his signature grin.

"Consumer reports show that if you liked Liquidator's patented helping hands, then you'll just love his next product line." The ex-salesman turned to the green duck behind him as the heroes regrouped. "The Liquidator will take his business down below and make havoc for the sea creatures and the ship alike. Keep them busy, Reggie and make sure to use your sea legs."

"W-wait, what are you going to...?" Bushroot question wasn't fully stammered out before the liquid canine glided overboard and splashed into the water.

"Aw, what's the matter Bushy?" Darkwing sneered as he replaced his cement pellets with a canister of weed killer. "Are you feeling abandoned now that your crime buddy's jumped ship?"

"I gotta admit, that was pretty cold, even for a wet dog like him." Launchpad said with a touch of sympathy.

The masked mallard was about to scold his sidekick for sympathizing with enemy when the ship lurched violently to the right, causing them all to lose their balance and slide across the deck. Bushroot reacted first and telepathically asked his plants to halt his movement. They wrapped their vines around his waist, stabilizing him and allowing him to regain his balance. At the same time, the flowers wrapped their other roots around the ship's railing to serve as anchor. Darkwing, Launchpad and Neptunia were not so lucky, as they continued to slide down the ship's deck until they crashed into one of the walls by the stairwell.

"He may have jumped off the ship, but he doesn't have any intention of giving up the ship and neither do I." Bushroot shouted to the disoriented heroes as they attempted to get back to their feet.

"Oh clam up, you sorry excuse for seaweed." Neptunia spat as she got to her feet and raised her trident. "I'll see how much you like running your mouth when my trident and I have a go at you."

She only got to charge two steps towards the villain when another lurch in the opposite direction. All three of them fell on their bellies and slid across the deck, heading towards edge of the ship. Launchpad, whose bulk made him move faster managed to sit up and land against the railing. He turned his body and stretched his arms out just in time to keep Darkwing and Neptunia from going overboard.

"Whew, thanks LP." The purple-clad crime fighter told his sidekick emphatically.

"No problemo, guys." The burly pilot told his two allies as they leaned against the railing. "So, uh, what's the plan now DW? How are we gonna fight Bushroot with the ship bouncin' around like this?"

"That's just it, Launchpad. I don't think we're going to be very effective until we can steady this ship." Darkwing said with some difficulty, hating to admit that there were certain elements that even he couldn't overcome on his own. "I think the best strategy is for the two of us to stay on deck and try to distract Bushroot, while Neptunia goes down into the ocean and forces Liquidator to come back on the ship." He looked over at the fish woman as he continued to outline his plan. "Neptunia, do you think you'll be able to handle Liquidator?"

Neptunia snorted at the question. "I'm the protector of the seas, deary. I wouldn't be much of a guardian if I couldn't handle that pile of sea sludge."

The crime fighter had to smile at the egotistical remark, so similar to one he would spout if his abilities were put into doubt. "Alright, we're counting on you. Be careful down there."

"Thanks, but I think that mangy mutt is the one who's going to need to exhibit some caution." The merwoman replied nonchalantly as she strapped her trident on her back. "Oh and if you get bested by the purple pansy over there, I'll never let you hear the end of it." Darkwing glared at his ally for that remark, but before he could retort she spoke again. "See ya in a few honey."

Without another word, she dived into the dark blue depths below and disappeared. The purple powerhouse watched the tide beneath him a moment longer when Launchpad's panicky voice brought him back to reality.

"Uh, DW? I think we have a problem."

Darkwing turned around to see what he was talking about. It didn't take long for him to figure it out as they were now surrounded by a wall of hibiscus flowers.

"Ha! Now, I can tie you both up and dump you overboard without that meddling fish woman getting in the way." Bushroot almost sounded confident as he gave his plants an order. "Go on guys. Show 'em what you got."

Darkwing and Launchpad both sprang to their feet as the flowers' roots started growing. The green tendrils started waving back and forth like taunting snakes waiting to strike. Not waiting for the opportunity for the plants to attack, the masked mallard whipped out his gas gun, still full of weed killer, and pointed it at the mass of plant life in front of him.

"Suck gas, you felonious flora!"

The crime fighter was about to pull the trigger when another lurch beneath the ship caused both ducks to fall and slide forward through the flowers. Darkwing and Launchpad cried out in alarm as they slid down the deck towards the other railing. Midway down the deck, something wrapped around Launchpad's ankle, slowing him down. He made a snap decision and grabbed his friend by the wrist to halt his slide. Darkwing looked up at his sidekick in astonishment as the ship continued to rock violently with waves stirring underneath it.

"Don't worry, DW, I gotcha!"

The purple-clad duck nodded in relief, which would turn out to be was short-lived. The mallard's eyes spotted the root vine that had tied itself around his sidekick's ankle and it was now growing. It was slowly making its way down the rest of Launchpad's body, trying to capture him in its grip. His sidekick felt what was happening with growing alarm and tried to wiggle free to no avail.

"LP, hold your breath." The terror that flaps in the night ordered as he raised his gas gun at the creeping vine and fired. The vine recoiled at the poisonous gas and let go of the struggling pilot. Both of them were sliding down again towards the railing with more vines reaching out to trap them. It was then that the deductive abilities of Darkwing Duck kicked in to overdrive as he thought of a plan to get them out of their predicament.

"Launchpad, can you toss me over to your left? I have an idea on how we can use this flower power to our advantage."

"Sure thing, DW." Launchpad said amicably as he swung his arm to his left to give the hero the distance he wanted. Just as he planned, one of the vine roots shifted in his directions trying to grab him. He allowed the vine to get close enough to him so that it would try to latch on to him. When it made its attempt, Darkwing dodged it and grasped the vine with both hands. Launchpad saw what his friend had done and imitated him, managing to snag another one of the vines. The caped crusader took a hold of the railing with his free hand to stop his slide and stood up.

"Quick, tie the vine to the railing!"

Launchpad gave a short salute and did as he was told. The pair tied the vines in a tight note around the railing forcing them to stay put. As they were doing this, two more vines slithered down their way, but they caught both of them and proceeded to do the same thing with them. The flowers themselves were by the other side of the boat and had anchored themselves to the railing closest to them. The vines that had been tied up pulled against their bonds, but couldn't get unstuck.

"Yep, yep, yep, just another brilliant plan put into action by Darkwing Duck!" He said with an egotistical flap of his cape. His heroic posturing was spoiled a minute later when the boat rocked back and forth again. Instead of sliding this time, however, he held on to the vines that he had tied to the railing behind him for support.

"You see, LP, these vines will act like ropes that we can use to steady ourselves so we don't lose our footing every time this ship starts bouncing around. When the ship stabilizes, we can pull ourselves up the vines to get a shot at Bushroot."

"I'm with ya, DW," His sidekick informed him with a thumbs up, "but just one thing. What are we going to do if those flowers send more of those root vines at us?"

"We're just going to have to keep tying them up, either with each other or onto these vines we're holding. Now, come on! We're wasting time."

Darkwing started pulling himself up the vines towards his enemies with Launchpad not too far behind. Just as Launchpad had predicted, the vines from the remaining flowers started going on the offensive. The first few were easy enough to avoid or tie up as the situation called for. They were halfway across the ship gave its biggest lurch yet and both ducks lost their footing and clung to the vines to keep them from sliding. The flowers saw this as an opportunity and gathered their vines back together for a full frontal assault. Before Darkwing or Launchpad could react, two large bundles of vines hit them directly in the chest and stomach, causing them to lose their grips. Both of them grabbed hold of the knotted vines at the last moment to keep them from going overboard, but the damage was done. They were back where they had started.

"Ohhhhh, wait till I get up there! I'll pluck every last petal from those lousy flowers." Darkwing muttered darkly as he rubbed his sore stomach.

"What are we gonna do, DW?" His faithful sidekick asked him with concern. "How are we gonna get back up to where Bushroot is if we keep losin' our balance like this?"

"That's a good question, Launchpad." Darkwing answered with grim determination. "I don't think we **can** get up there as long as this ship keeps rocking like this. The best we can do is keep trying and hope that Neptunia can chase Liquidator back on deck. In the meantime, we should keep playing defense until we get an opening. Come on, LP, let's show these floral fiends that Darkwing Duck is no quitter!"

Launchpad nodded and they two of them started to climb the vines again, hoping that Neptunia would come through for them.

* * *

Once Neptunia had dived into the water, she swam under the ship to see if she could spot the canine fugitive in question. It didn't take her long to find him and as she swam closer to him, she watched him gather up a tremendous force of water and slam it underneath the boat making it tilt to one side.

_That explains all the jostling on deck_. The merwoman thought as she closed in on him. _Alright, time to stick it to this pile of sea slime._

The self-proclaimed protector of the seas swam up to the Liquidator and pushed against his large nose twice with her fingers to get his attention.

"Listen here Bub, I've had enough of you're cheap slogans. You're little scheme is ending right here."

"Well, that's a hard line to walk or shall I say swim." Liquidator replied coolly, rubbing his nose. "For starters, who's going to be the one to lead the project of stopping me? You? Or maybe some of your dimwit sea friends?"

He scoffed at the idea, snickering at her and crossing his arms in derision, fueling Neptunia's anger.

"I'll teach you some respect for sea creatures, you sorry excuse for sewer sludge." She blew a tune into her conch shell and was soon accompanied by her loyal companion Hal and a large gathering of octopi, tropical fish and a few shellfish. "Got a job for all of you. Attack!"

Hal didn't waste any time swimming for their enemy and reaching for him with this large tentacles. The ex-salesman easily slipped through his grasp and deftly swam around his attackers. The dog started circling his attackers, bringing water to him as he did so. A gigantic ball of water gathered above him, which steamed and bubbled with an unnatural heat as he placed his hand beneath it.

"Do you have too much seafood and no time to cook it? Then, try a Liquidator brand deep heated ball to turn any cold fish into a fish fry!"

The liquid canine wasted no time in jettisoning the giant hot water ball up towards the sea creatures attacking him. Fish, octopi and shellfish scattered and scrambled to get out of the way of the burning water, but few managed to avoid the blow. Every creature caught in the water suffered terrible burns and many of the fighters fell unconscious to the bottom of the ocean. The ball ended its ascent by colliding with the bottom of the ship, tipping it violently to one side.

Neptunia gasped audibly at the damage done by the water dog. She hadn't been aware that he could change water temperature along with all his other capabilities. The merwoman swam back towards Hal, who seemed to be moving at an anemic pace.

"Hal? You okay?"

The gigantic red octopus nodded though Neptunia could tell by his timid movements that he was in pain. She looked at his tentacles and noticed that several of them had been burned in the attack. She glared menacingly at the Liquidator, who was now floating in water in a prone position with his hands behind his head, pretending to relax.

"Upset about your half-cooked sea food? That's alright! Just give up and go home before the Liquidator gets serious and fries a whole new school of fish." He gloated with his usual flare. More water rushed past him at his command and hit the bottom of the boat, causing it to shake back and forth once more.

"Thanks for trying, Hal." Neptunia said in a soothing voice even as she inwardly seethed with anger. "I'll handle the rest from here."

Hal didn't look very happy at her going it alone, but he nodded his assent anyway. The merwoman put a hand on one of his tentacles in comfort and smiled at him reassuringly. Then she swam down until she was only a foot or so in front of Liquidator.

"I think you're the one who's about to be in hot water, loud mouth. I washed up your crooked schemes before and I'll do it again."

"Overconfident? Indulging yourself with pitiful past triumphs to bolster your low self-esteem? Allow the Liquidator to bring you back to reality with his new and improved invisibility technique."

Abruptly, Liquidator launched himself backwards with a sinister smile and his canine form disappeared into the water around him. Neptunia swam back from the spot that the water criminal had been and looked from side to side nervously. She searched desperately for any sign that would give away the liquid dog, but saw nothing around her but clear water.

"Oh dear. Having trouble finding the villain?" The familiar watery gurgle seemed to be surrounding her and she circled around again trying to find him. "How about you look..._over here!_"

The voice was loudest directly in front of her. The fish woman took out her trident and charged forward. To her dismay, her trident didn't seem to connect with anything and she realized she had fallen for her enemy's trick. Split seconds later Neptunia was hit by a powerful, hot surge of water that came at her from behind. Spiraling downward wildly, she flailed wildly until she finally regained control of herself. Wincing at the pain in her back, she scowled at the bubbling laughter echoing around her.

"Is that part of your new product line? Cheap tricks for chumps who are too afraid to fight face to face?" She sneered upwards to where she thought the voice was loudest.

"Silly fish! Great strategies are not the work of cowards, but of champions. This competitor thinks that you've indulged yourself in too many free samples of sour grapes."

She rolled her eyes at the statement and swam up to where she had heard the voice the loudest. As she moved forward she heard the sound of rushing water coming towards her and placed her trident at the ready. When she felt she was close enough, Neptunia swiped forward hoping to connect with her enemy this time. Again, her weapon missed its mark, although this time she could feel an unnatural current moving around her. The merwoman lunged backwards so that only a bit of the hot water brushed against her arms. Retreating into deeper waters once more, she ignored the aches in both her arms and concentrated on coming up with a solution to her problems.

_This isn't working. A few more hits and I'll be fried enough to serve with tartar sauce. _She started mulling over her previous encounters with him to figure out a weak point she could work with. _The last time I faced him I swam inside him and turned him into a water spout. Too bad I can't see him this time or I would do the same thing and lead him back onto the boat. _She snapped her fingers together as she came up with a plan. _Then again, maybe I __**don't**__ need to see him..._

Putting the conch shell to her lips, Neptunia coaxed a long melody of commands out of its hollow depths. Moments later, whales, sharks and any other assortment of large sea creatures assembled beneath her awaiting her instructions. The protector of the seas made a circle around her with her trident and the creatures beneath her nodded their understanding. They stacked themselves in rows, one row on top of the other in perfect circles and began swimming. Satisfied, Neptunia swam upwards to lure out her opponent.

"Inquiring minds want to know what you think you're doing? Does the so-called protector of the seas wish to see more of her ocean companions go belly up? If so, the Liquidator could easily grant such a request."

"You know loud mouth, I'm beginning to think you're stalling." Neptunia replied to him in provocative manner. "What's the matter? Did the bottom drop out of your sales? Or perhaps, as I've always said, you're afraid of showing that the advertising you've done about how powerful you are is all just a bunch of hype."

Her only response was a low growl and she immediately turned tail and swam back towards where her minions were working. She could feel a rush of boiling water brushing against her fins and she knew he was in pursuit. Smirking to herself, she got to where she wanted and made a sharp right turn to throw off the invisible dog on her fins. Turning to where she thought he was, she blew another long note into her conch shell to signal her allies below that it was time to implement her plan. By now, the sea creatures had managed to stir up a large current and a power circular vortex had formed beneath her. Finally noticing the danger he was in, the watery gargle nervously spoke around her.

"H-Hey, what in the name of all stock markets do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, that?" Neptunia pointed down at the maelstrom that was now making its way up towards them. "Well, honey, since you work so hard at your job I thought you could use a little time off. Allow me to take you for a spin."

Just after she said it, the fish woman found herself in the middle of the vortex her minions had created. Neptunia grabbed on to one of the whales fins and rode with them in the current they'd created. Through the water, she could hear a distressed and disoriented gargling cry and she knew her ploy had been successful.

"Nice work, guys! Now let's bring this whirlpool to the surface and finish the job.

* * *

Back on the ship, Darkwing and Launchpad had made some progress and were now about midway up the deck. They were still under constant assault from the hibiscus flowers that were continuously trying to either tie them up or cause them to lose their balance so they fell back to where they started. The ship itself had been very calm for the last few minutes and the crime fighter was trying to take advantage of the respite to get closer to Bushroot. The purple-clad mallard had just finished swatting away another vine when the ship tilted forward, only this time the entire ship seemed to be pulled in another direction. Hanging on to the vine rope to keep himself steady, Darkwing noticed that the water beside the boat seemed to have formed a whirlpool and they were being dragged into it. Surprised by the sudden change in the tides, he was even more shocked when the whirlpool itself spiraled up into a water spout that was on collision course with the ship.

"Launchpad, hold on tight!" Darkwing commanded his sidekick as he braced himself for impact. His wide-eyed sidekick regained his senses just in time and clung on to the vines for dear life.

A minute after Darkwing's warning, a powerful rush of water flooded the deck obstructing all vision for everyone on the deck. Darkwing and Launchpad lost their footing as the water ran beneath them, getting into their eyes and mouths and drenching them from head to webbed feet. Luckily they were still able to hang on and after a very long and treacherous moment, the water calmed itself and the two mallards got back to their feet in bewilderment.

"Whoa! That was some drenching." Launchpad remarked with a whistle as he wrung out his pilot's cap and placed it back on his head. "I didn't even get that wet on Soak Mountain at the water park."

"Yes, but how _did_ that happen?" Darkwing questioned as the water continued to drain off the deck. A startled cry from a little ways behind him made him quit his musings and turn around to see Bushroot completely soaked and miserable as he sat up on the deck.

"M-my poor flowers!" He whimpered in dismay. "They've-They've been washed away!"

The crime fighter took a quick glance in the direction where the flowers had been holding up and only two of them, the two that he and Launchpad had used to hold onto, where still there. Turning towards the villain who was still wallowing in self-pity, he loaded his gas gun with a new canister of weed killer.

"Oh, my poor flowers. What did they do to deserve that?" The plant mutant asked to no one in particular and, thus, was shocked when someone actually answered him.

"They were an accessory to crime. There's nothing more to say." Darkwing raised his gas gun at the terrified villain, who now remembered that he had been in the middle of a battle. Scrambling to his feet to get away, he didn't get far before he heard a very familiar catch phrase: "Suck gas evil doer!"

The purple-clad duck fired his canister of weed killer which enveloped the villain momentarily. The gas weakened the plant duck as he managed to get away from the cloud of fumes, still coughing violently. Now that his enemy was distracted, Darkwing loaded a canister of sleep gas and fired it so that it opened above Bushroot's head. The botanist felt the spray hit him and looked up in confusion for a moment before the gas started taking effect. He swayed where he stood, trying to resist the draw of sleep, but it was no use. Bushroot collapsed forward on the deck, sound asleep.

"Alright! Nice work, DW!" Launchpad said with enthusiasm as Darkwing pretended to look at him with an nonchalant expression, while secretly preening over the praise he was given.

"Oh, that? It was just the natural outcome of events when any venomous villain faces off with Darkwing—Umph!"

"Sorry to interrupt your self-congratulatory monologue, honey," Neptunia said in an unapologetic fashion as she released his beak, "but I could use a little help cleaning up some scummy water off the deck."

She pointed towards a pile of water that had gained a life of its own and was forming the familiar shape of the water dog that the fish woman had been fighting down below.

"Liquidator!" Darkwing hissed as his enemy continued to reform himself. He turned to Launchpad, his ever faithful sidekick as he got back on his feet. "LP, I need you to tie up Bushroot before he has a chance to wake up."

"Right." The pilot nodded and turned away to do as he was told.

Darkwing and Neptunia quickly ran over to the Liquidator who was still on his hands and knees on the deck. The ex-salesman was holding his head in one hand as if he were feeling a bit disoriented. His form finally settled down as the crime fighter and the merwoman closed in.

"Looks like your scheme's all washed up, Liquidator." Darkwing said as Liquidator slowly got back on the puddle that served as his feet. The masked mallard loaded cement pellets into his gas gun and prepared to fire. "Now, I've got a limited time offer for you. Surrender right now or prepare to become a decoration for the people on this ship."

"The Liquidator suggests that the competitor works on his marketing campaign. That is an offer every villain would refuse," the liquid dog stated as he stood up and glided backwards with a sly grin on his face, "especially one that hasn't been caught!"

On cue, Liquidator spun around and slid away from his two opponents towards the other side of the ship.

"Go to the other side of the deck and wait for him to come around." Darkwing told Neptunia as he raced off after the watery villain. "We can't let him get away!"

The caped crusader raised his gas gun and fired the cement pellets in the hopes of halting Liquidator's movements. The ex-salesman seemed to anticipate the attack and did an abrupt slide to the left just before the pellets could connect with him. Cursing, Darkwing was about to reload his gas gun and try again, when a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Darkwing, wait!"

Standing by the stairs was his spirited red-haired daughter, carrying to large canisters under each arm.

"Gosalyn? What are you doing up here? I told you to stay—"

"You can lecture me about obedience later." She interrupted him offhandedly before pressing something against his body. He looked down and realized that it was a fire extinguisher. "Here take this! I think you can use it to stop Liquidator."

All of his irritation at her disobedience disappeared as he marveled at her ingenuity. Ruffling her hair affectionately, he smiled down at her and said, "That's my girl."

She batted his hand away, but she was smiling even as she impatiently replied to him. "Come on, Dad, now's not the time for this! You gotta catch Liquidator before he gets away."

"Don't worry Gos! Darkwing Duck is on the case." He winked at her and ran to the other side of the deck to intercept the gliding water dog. Once he disappeared, Gosalyn called out to Launchpad, who promptly trotted over. She handed him the other fire extinguisher and instructed him on what to do. He nodded and followed the crime fighter so he could back him up.

"What's your hurry, loud mouth?" Neptunia asked as the ex-salesman moved towards her. "How 'bout you stick around and go for another spin?" As she finished her statement she tried to jump into his hollow watery form, but missed as the villain stretched his body out so that there wasn't enough water for her to dive into.

"Surveys suggest that fish should stick to swimming in the ocean where they belong." Liquidator sneered over his shoulder at Neptunia. Once he was facing forward again, he scowled as he noticed that Darkwing had gotten in front of him and was holding something. His hollow eyes widened as he realized what it was and tried to slow down.

"Freeze, you felonious fluid!" Darkwing shouted and fired off the extinguisher. The spray hit the Liquidator dead center and, just as he hoped, the water started freezing. Launchpad quickly ran around to the other side and started spraying his fire extinguisher to make sure that the villain was completely frozen. When both fire extinguishers were empty, the crime fighter was satisfied to see that the watery villain was now nothing more than an ice statue.

"Yes!" Gosalyn shouted as she jumped in the air. "Way to go Darkwing!"

"Not bad honey." Neptunia told him as she walked up beside him and admired Liquidator's statue. .

"Yep, yep, yep." Darkwing said taking in the accolades. "Just another crime spree thwarted by the ever vigilant Darkwing Duck—"

"Ahem." Gosalyn coughed, crossed her arms and gave her father a knowing look. Darkwing sheepishly sighed and continued.

"—with some help from his trusty sidekick Launchpad and the protector of the seas Neptunia."

Everyone smiled at the egotistical masked mallard, who clearly didn't like sharing the credit and decided that they had better change the subject.

"Well, now that these two villains have been taught a lesson, we should probably turn this ship around, doncha think?" Neptunia put in as the boat continued to move away from the island.

"Right. Good thinking." Darkwing complimented her and was about to do just that when his sidekick cut it.

"Just one thing, DW. What about the boat owner who worked with these two? Shouldn't we round him up as well?"

"That's right!" Darkwing slapped a hand to his forehead. "I almost forgot about him."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." Gosalyn said with an exaggerated innocence. Everyone knew by the tone that there was more to this story and waited for her to continue. "Let's just say that none of the passengers appreciated their unexpected incarceration and when _somebody_ let it slip that he was responsible for them being on the boat, well, they decided it would be best if he remained tied up for the rest of the trip."

None of them had to ask who that 'somebody' was. The three grown-ups smiled at the spirited duckling before Darkwing signaled them to start moving.

"Come on. We'd better find the captain and get this ship turned around."

* * *

Back on shore, Officer Jenny and a group of her fellow policemen waited anxiously by the docks for the return of _The Sea Swiper_. It had taken an hour or so to calm down the populace after the attack by Neptunia's sea creatures and most of the officers were still trying to clean up some of the damage that had been done. Jenny had personally gone back to police headquarters and explained what Darkwing Duck had told her. Though most of them had been skeptical and some had even said she sounded downright crazy, she convinced some of them to accompany her to the docks to wait for the return of Darkwing, Neptunia and Launchpad.

"Are you **sure** this Darkwing-whatever-his-name-is was telling the truth?" One of the younger officers asked her for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

"Yes, I'm sure." She replied as politely as he could. She was getting very tired of that question.

"Sounds like stuff outta fairy tales to me. Beings made of water and plants, not to mention a merwoman," he continued on in disbelief before he noticed the glare she was giving him and decided to change his tune, "but if you say so then I'll believe you..heh...heh..."

The urge to smack her fellow officer faded when she saw _The Sea Swiper _appear in front of the docks. "There it is!" She pointed out happily and ran up to where the ship was going to dock. Officer Jenny waited patiently as a stairwell from the ship descended onto the dock itself. First off was Neptunia who had a green bundle over her shoulder. She spotted the officer and grinned.

"Ah, Officer Jenny. Here's one of the troublemaker's I promised to bring to you."

Without another word, the fish woman flopped the unconscious Bushroot down on the ground where Jenny could see him. Her eyes widened as she took in the green complexion, purple petal hair and root feet. As surprised as she was by that, the duck police woman was even more shocked when Darkwing and Launchpad came into view, carefully carrying an ice sculpture down the steps of the ship. They placed the statue next to Bushroot and Jenny was amazed to see that it was a canine figure that seemed to be completely made out of water.

"Is that thing...alive?" Jenny inquired hesitantly, staring at the frozen statue before her.

"Alive as you or I." Darkwing informed her, knocking his hand against the solid statue. "This is the Liquidator, a water villain from St. Canard. Down there is Bushroot, his plant-loving accomplice. Both of them were behind the island wide crime wave, just as I told you."

Officer Jenny looked between the statue and the prone figure on the ground trying to take it all in. Her fellow officers had come up behind her and were now staring at the two figures in complete disbelief. Shaking her head, she decided to change the subject for the moment.

"Were any of the passengers hurt?"

"Not ta worry. Everybody's just fine. A little shaken up, but fine." Launchpad reassured her and pointed up at the ship's railing. Her dark eyes gazed up at the deck and saw that passengers were lined up against the railing. All of them seemed to okay, just as Launchpad had said.

"And what about Mr. Swiper? He didn't get away, did he?"

"That conniving tub of lard?" Darkwing spouted incredulously. "You really think **he** could outrun this clever crime fighting marvel? Puh-lease."

"He's tied up in the basement of the ship." Gosalyn explained as she walked down the steps and hopped onto the dock. "We put him in the room where all the stolen money is to make it easier on the police when we got back."

"Well, I certainly appreciate that." Jenny said sincerely. "I'm sure that we'll be able to relocate Mr. Swiper to a cozy jail cell in one of our top facilities without a problem. However, I'm not so sure about these two." She pointed to the two super villains that were placed in front of her. "I wouldn't mind trying them here after all the trouble they caused, but in all honesty I don't think our facilities are capable of holding them. I'd hate to have them get away again."

"Yeah, I wouldn't be too pleased if that happened either, especially after the mess they made in my ocean." Neptunia put in with a frown. "How about this? If your people arrange a ship to take them back to St. Canard, my fellow sea creatures and I can swim alongside it and keep a look out for any trouble. If something happens, we'll be there to handle it."

"Hmmm...yes, I think that is a good idea." Jenny concluded after thinking it over. "The chief of police and I can make the arrangements. We could have them out of here as early as this evening. Is there anything you think we should do, Mr. Darkwing? I know your the expert on super villains like these."

"If it's advice you want on the detainment of villains, then you've asked the right duck." Darkwing said with pride. "As such, I recommend you find a ship with a large freezer so that Liquidator stays cold. As long as he's frozen, he won't be able to use his powers. Also, make sure that there are no plants on the ship that Bushroot can use. Other than that, you should keep him in a small sealed room where he has no chance of squeezing his way out."

Jenny hastily jotted down what the crime fighter told her on a small notepad. When she was finished, she put it back into her front pocket and smiled warmly at the group of people in front of her.

"I can't thank any of you enough for what you've done for us. Our island owes you all a great debt. And I'd like to apologize to you, Mr. Darkwing. I'm sorry I said that you looked like one of the bad guys. You're a true hero."

"You're welcome, my dear. It's always a pleasure to protect the public and its service I'm happy to do for free." He said with a flourish of his cape. As he finished speaking, he closed the distance between him and the officer and leaned up to whisper into her ear. "Although, if you could get the story to the local presses and maybe get, oh I don't know, a dozen or so pictures to hand out, I wouldn't stop you."

"I'll see what I can do." Jenny replied to him with an indulging smile. "For now, let's put the villains in custody and get the tourists off the ship. I'm eager to put this whole incident behind us."

* * *

After all the arrangements had been made for the villains' departure and everyone's questions had been answered, Darkwing disappeared from the crowd of police officers and grateful tourists in a cloud of blue smoke. Gosalyn and Launchpad departed shortly after that and rejoined Drake Mallard back at their hotel room. To celebrate their latest successful crime bust, Darkwing treated them all to a nice dinner at an expensive restaurant where they were all happy to indulge themselves.

The ship carrying Liquidator and Bushroot left in the morning with Neptunia and her fellow sea creatures in tow. Before she left, Officer Jenny had assured her that the natives would do everything they could to restore the ocean floor to its once pristine quality. Once the ship was gone, the trio completely relaxed and enjoyed the rest of their vacation. Two days after the incident, all the major newspapers on the island had cover stories about the mysterious crime spree. The issues even included pictures of the crime fighter credited with solving the case, the purple-clad mallard named Darkwing Duck. Drake Mallard, of course, insisted on buying copies of every paper that had his name and picture on it. He claimed that he took so many of them so he could investigate the quality of reporting in Jacova, which earned him an eye roll from his very blunt daughter.

The days passed by faster than any of them thought they would and soon enough they were packing their bags again and flying back to St. Canard. Needless to say, Drake Mallard was in a much cheerier mood than he had been when he had left the snowy city. Upon returning to his tower hideout, he was even more ecstatic to find out that Gizmoduck had managed to get himself captured by FOWL agents and needed to be rescued. Happy as could be after saving his rival, his city and protecting his people, Darkwing returned to the Audubon Bay Bridge Tower to find Gosalyn waiting for him.

"Feeling better?" The red-haired duckling asked him as he walked over to her with a spring in his step.

"Much." The masked mallard informed her confidently before falling back into his father mode. "Hey, shouldn't you be in bed young lady?"

"Oh, I figured that I'd go to bed when you did." Gosalyn said mischievously. Darkwing sighed at the answer and decided to let it go for now.

"What about you? Did you enjoy your vacation?"

"Of course, except for the whole being held hostage thing, but other than that it was awesome! I mean, I got to eat some yummy food, take down some bad guys in a wicked sea battle and I even learned something valuable. Overall, can't complain, can I?"

Darkwing blinked at this answer and eyed her as if she had grown another head. "You '**learned'** something on your vacation and you're **happy** about it? Who are you and what did you do with Gosalyn?"

"Aw, Dad, can the melodramatics. I've watched too many horror movies to fall for any tricks the alien body snatchers might try on me." She said with pride. Her green eyes then settled on her father and there was no guile in them. "Actually, it was our financial bet on the island that got me thinking about how to make money. With everything that went on, well, I definitely learned that there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it. That's all."

"That's a great lesson to learn, kiddo." He put his arms around her and held her tight. "I'm proud of you for understanding that and I hope that you'll always remember it."

Gosalyn hugged him back and the two just held there for a moment. Finally, Darkwing let go of her and placed a hand on her back to coax her over to the spinning chairs.

"Come on, Gos, it's time for both of us to be getting to bed." To his surprise, she didn't give her usual protests about not being tired, but calmly walked alongside him. As they both took a seat in the chairs, she looked over at him with a grin on her face.

"Guess we can agree on one thing though, right Dad?"

"That being?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"That was the best vacation ever!" She replied boisterously.

"Yes, you're right. It was the best vacation I've ever had." Darkwing said and he really meant it. Smiling, he activated the switch and the pair whirled their way back to their home.

* * *

Author's note: Yay, the story's finished! I'm happy that I was able to finally write that big battle scene and that the story has been completed before it became a year old. A big thank you to everyone who reviewed this story as it progressed to its end. The reviews I received really helped me to keep writing. As always, I hope you enjoyed the story and thanks for reading!


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